The Great Traits - News & Events

In her role with Own the Podium, Debbie spent part of her summer in Rome at the World Aquatic Championships. The competition included diving, synchronized swimming, water polo and swimming. Debbie observed the international competitive reality for each aquatic discipline, and was there to act as a mentor for the coaches as required.

See all 8 Achiever traits come to life in these fun, fast-paced segments by going to http://www.cbc.ca/topofyourgame

Over two days, Debbie and Mark delivered a Games Experience workshop to nine Ontario teams from Pfizer. Three teams competed in Niagra on the Lake, followed by six more teams in Muskoka. The four hour workshop was action packed and focused on the Achiever Traits, helping the reps get focused for a year of best results.

Mark and Debbie were able to experience the magic of the newly opened Vancouver Convention Centre for themselves when they were on-site to deliver a Games Experience to staff. Members of the sales, catering and client service departments came together for a six hour team building session that focused on the Leader Traits. The countdown to Vancouver 2010 is on!

Watch for Mark every Wednesday on CBC News Morning with Heather Hiscox for his new "Top of Your Game" series. Each week, Mark will feature a different trait from The Great Traits of Champions and share his tips on how to apply the traits to help you be Top of Your Game! Missed the latest episode? Click here to check it out online: http://www.cbc.ca/topofyourgame

Mark was recently featured in the "Best Story Ever" spot of The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC. Missed the episode? Catch up on Mark's story by pasting this link in your browser: http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=1070845743

Recently Rachel Corbett of the Centre for Sport and Law read The Great Traits of Champions and posted her review on the Centre for Sport and Law's website. Want to read what she had to say? Go to the URL below: http://www.sportlaw.ca/articles/bookreview_champions.php

The Calgary City Teacher's Convention Association recently invited Debbie to share her expertise with teachers from schools all across Calgary. The theme for this year's convention was "No Road Not Taken" and in fitting with this Debbie chose to deliver her talk titled "The Champion's Journey - Coaching Teacher's to Lead with Excellence". Debbie drew on her many years of coaching experience and 6 of The Great Traits to inspire teachers to explore all avenues available to them when it comes to teaching the achievers, leaders and legacy leavers of tomorrow.

Mark and Debbie were in Halifax to deliver two main stage presentations as well as book signings as well as a 90 minute in-depth workshop on the Achiever traits. This was their first ever Heath and Wellness show and it was a huge success! They would like to extend their thanks to the Optimyze team for inviting them and hope to be back next year. Want to find out when Mark and Debbie will be coming to your city? Stay tuned to our News & Events page or better yet, subscribe to our Newsletter for the latest and greatest updates.

On the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the government of France led an initiative to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Mark was invited to the United Nations in New York City to speak at this historic event.

When Rowing Canada held their Annual General Meeting in Mississauga, Ontario this December Mark and Debbie were invited to speak and deliver an interactive keynote presentation to the coaches and club administrators. With a focus on the Legacy Traits, Mark and Debbie challenged their audience to think of the kind of legacy each of them as individuals were leaving as leaders within their respective organizations. The ultimate focus was how to ensure their impact on their teams was a positive one and a great time was had by all!

Debbie was invited to the International Triathlete Union's Congress and Federation Forum 2008 in Madrid, Spain on November 26th and 27th. She drew on her years of experience both as a coach and an organizational leader in sport and spoke to 120 countries about building organizations for World Class Performance.

Rounding out a busy month, Mark facilitated a diversity presentation in Hong Kong for global investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs. Mark used the Legacy Traits to deliver the presentation which included employees in Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai who participated via teleconference. Following his diversity presentation, a second more intimate presentation was delivered to the managing directors of the firm on Leader traits.

Debbie was invited by Enerplus, North America's largest conventional oil and natural gas income fund to speak at their leaders forum in Banff. Debbie delivered a presentation to 75 leaders on the Great Traits of Champions.

Mark spoke just outside of Toronto as part of the Canadian Olympic Commitee's Post Olympic Excellence Series. He delivered a presentation to athletes who chose to retire after the Beijing games about the transition from sport to success in the next phase of their lives.

Mark was invited by Craig and Marc Kielberger to speak to several thousand students at "Me to We" Day in Hamilton, ON. The day was in support of a global youth movement to end child poverty and provide access to education and other resources. Mark spoke alongside a number of other guests, including Mia Farrow, Sarah McLahlan, Justin Trudeau and Nate Berkus of Oprah and Friends.

Debbie gave a keynote address on Great Traits leadership at the Alberta Swimming & Synchronized Swimming Coaches conference this October. Debbie was honored to be this year's keynote speaker at the conference. Debbie's experiences as a Synchronized Swimming coach helped shape what we know today as the Great Traits of Champions and she hopes her words will help inspire future coaches to find the Champion in themselves.

Mark and Debbie were at the Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vermont on September 17th to deliver The Games Experience to medical supply company Covidien. Mark and Debbie had lots of fun working with Covidien's leadership team to help them create a strong leadership capacity and get them ready for a successful 08/09 year. Mark and Debbie focused on 4 of The Great Traits to equip Covidien with the tools they need to produce some incredible results! Thanks to the Covidien team for being so open to the experience.

Mark and Debbie had their own Games Experience at the 29th Olympic games in Beijing! While Mark was working with Ron McLean for CBC's prime time coverage of the games, Debbie continued her work with the Canadian Olympic Committee as a coach mentor. When Debbie wasn't providing support for the Canadian coaches, she and Mark were able to share some CBC air time to talk about The Great Traits.

On May 6, 2008, www.thegreattraits.com went LIVE for the first time. Thanks to Jenny, Tayana, Daniel and the team at STEM Limited for their support. As Great Traits Inc continues to grow, this site will grow with us. Stay tuned to see where it all goes...

In the autumn of 2007, Mark met a remarkable woman, Mary Boon, at 74 years old, who was fulfilling a lifelong dream of competing in the 2008 Boston marathon. At 58, Mary casually joined a group of friends for a Christmas shuffle. At 62, Mary completed her first marathon. Twelve years, on April 21st , Mark joined her family and friends to cheer her on as she crossed the finish line under 6 hours at the prestigious Boston Marathon. Mary is a testament that it is never too late to be a champion.

In her role as coach mentor, Debbie recently visited Beijing with the Canadian Olympic Committee. There for twelve days, she cheered on the Canadian synchronized swimming team as they qualified for the Olympic games, as well as spending time with the Canadian team leaders and head coaches as they familiarized themselves with the Olympic venues. The clock is ticking and times are exciting as the 2008 Beijing Olympics draw closer. Stay posted for more 2008 Olympic great trait connections.

If you are looking for a copy of The Great Traits of Champions to read before ordering and you live in Vancouver, you are in luck! Check it out, literally, at the Public Library.

The Great Traits of Champions: Fundamentals for Achievers, Leaders and Legacy Leavers is available NOW for sale exclusively at www.thegreattraits.com. A four color, matte finish, 188 page guide book to achievement, leadership and legacy, The Great Traits of Champions takes a unique approach to classic themes. Colors, shapes, visual icons, assessment tools and summaries have never made the discovery of success and leadership so much fun.