Recap of April 2011 Meeting

Our April meeting occurred just a few days before the 2011 Real Food Symposium in Pasadena. Since a group of us were planning to volunteer at the Weston A. Price Foundation & Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund booth at the symposium, we all benefited from having Certified Trade Show Marketer Ruth Failer as our special guest. With years of experience and her own company, Tips of the Trade, Ruth gave us a hands-on interactive lesson about how best to communicate our message, both at the booth and in our daily lives.

It came as no surprise that the best way to educate fellow consumers is to become better listeners ourselves. By first determining what people are looking for, we have a much better chance of meeting the needs or our listeners and keeping their attention. In fact, Ruth taught us that the most important question we can ask anyone who shows up at our booth is: "What brought you to our booth today?" If the passer-by was just looking for the bathroom, then they may not appreciate a lecture on raw milk at that time! On the other hand, if someone came to the booth wondering how a traditional diet can help them with their health, then we have much more to work with. The same lesson can be applied to our personal interactions during our daily lives. We have to know the goals, interest level, and motivation of our listeners before we begin sharing our message. In essence, effective communication can only be achieved through effective listening!

Besides having the wonderful lecture from Ruth, we also celebrated our 1st anniversary as the Pasadena California Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation. We had a delicious potluck (as usual) and three amazing desserts!! We enjoyed an ice cream cake made by Karen, a cheesecake with chocolate sauce made by Lois, and this gorgeous home-decorated birthday cake made by Theresa! And each desert was prepared to the standards of the founder and president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Sally Fallon! It was truly such a wonderful night. We are so fortunate to have such a great group of people and cooks!