Pay it Forward...On my soapbox for a bit.

  On the vein of my last entry about things I've learned, this addresses all those people who say, "that's not MY job". We are a spoiled generation, raising a spoiled generation...and the only way to change that is to start teaching our young people (and ourselves) to "invest" ourselves into their lives; even the smallest bit of help, I've found, is greatly appreciated. When we're on our summer tour with the corps, we have to stay at schools. This is not an easy situation, especially because there are those that would leave things a mess before us, making it especially difficult to convince the "higher ups" of the school system that we should be allowed to stay there. A big part of my philosophy, and that of my corps, is to leave a place cleaner than when we found it. No one is allowed to say, "that's not my job", or "the janitors will clean it". We all have jobs that we're assigned, and expected to be carried out. You'd be amazed at how a "small" gesture such as cleaning up after onesself goes miles to building a lasting, positive  business relationship. Also, when you get to a facility where you'll be holding an event or what have you, the people to make friends with are the custodians/secretary/school representative. I always invite them to share a meal with us, or ask what we can do to help them...great results will follow, I guarantee it! Always leave the places where you are, & the people you meet with a good impression of yourself & the organization you're representing...you never know when that impression will lead to greater things (and it'll make you feel good, too)!

  *steps off huge soapbox*

  Helpful hint of the day:
For the vegetarians in your group, I have found that almost ANY recipe that has beef or chicken can be substituted with Boca burger- before you add meat to a dish, set aside a portion of the dish, then add Boca meat to that portion. Then, to the rest of the dish, add the meat & cook a little longer to get that "meat flavor" infused into the dish. That way, everyone is happy, and the vegetarian dish hasn't been touched by meat.