McNiel and Brokaw have an opportunity to discuss the State of Civility in the United States
WILLIAMSTON — Pattie McNiel, founder and CEO of First Impressions Training (FIT) www.firstimpressionstraining.com, was one of 100 lucky guests who joined former NBC News Anchor, Tom Brokaw, for a private gourmet dinner, held May 12 at Bowers Harbor Inn in Traverse City.
“Mr. Brokaw was keynote dinner speaker to benefit the National Writers Series Scholarship Fund and spoke specifically about civility pertaining to the state of the United States today stating, ‘We all got into this mess together it will take all of us working together to get out of it,’ ” McNiel said.
She also attended a reception: An Evening with Tom Brokaw at the Traverse City Opera House later the same evening. “At the reception, I told Tom Brokaw that he ranks right up there with seeing the Beatles twice and Jimi Hendrix live,” McNiel said. “Mr. Brokaw chuckled and told me, ‘I don’t know that I would put myself up there with those guys.’ ”
McNiel had the opportunity to get Mr. Brokaw’s thoughts about the state of civility in the United States. “ ‘We will always have tabloid news,’ Mr. Brokaw told me, and he said ‘civility starts at events like this and fans out.’ ”
For McNiel the event gave her a chance to talk to Brokaw and explain how she has worked with Dr. P.M. Forni, cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project, and best selling author of Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct, and on the development of her current workshop entitled: “The Magic of Civility.” “Mr. Brokaw told me, ‘Pattie you’re doing the right thing.’”
McNiel said Brokaw shared stories for two hours on topics which included, writing The Greatest Generation, and A Long Way from Home, the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the Detroit Riots, Vietnam, and President Nixon stepping down in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
He asked us to try to imagine being WWII veterans who lived though the Depression during their formative years then went on to fight WWII, being the underdogs in their late teens and early 20s. After the war they came home to build houses, went to work in the factories, and had children. Fast forward to sitting at the table with their teenage children to see their daughter with no bra or underwear, their son with long unwashed hair stating he is not going to fight in Vietnam and is going to burn his draft card. After the children leave the dinner table (yes we Baby Boomers sat down and had a meal with the entire family), Mom states, “hey big buy why is it I am the only one that does the dishes?”
“When Mr. Brokaw was asked what is needed now in the United States he provided insight: ‘We need people to think outside the box and come up with BOLD ideas because what we are doing right now is not working. Some of these people with BOLD ideas are going to lose their jobs because of this boldness. We need much stronger public service programs in which people go to work in other countries. We need to spend more time on conflict resolution programs. We need more science in education.’ ”
McNiel has conducted numerous workshops at colleges and universities, and with the business community. Her client list is impressive and diverse ranging from the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitor Center, to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Scholars & Fellows Orientation. You can get more information by visiting www.firstimpressionstraining.com
About First Impressions Training
First Impressions Training was established in 2001 and is based in Williamston, Michigan. The company’s mission is providing outstanding, high value, professional business etiquette workshops, food safety consulting and third party restaurant audits. First Impressions Training specializes in promoting professional business etiquette and civility. It has been providing training to businesses working in China with its focus on Chinese communication, culture, and manners for professionals doing business in China.
First Impressions Training has trained thousands of students and employees from many organizations throughout the country and can be reached at www.firstimpressionstraining.com
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