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Maymester Day 3 – Onboard MV Explorer

John Girard — Sat, 19 May 2012 21:39:17 +0000

Our day started with faculty, staff, and family orientation. Eager attended but was not formally introduced … no big deal, even though all of the other kids were mentioned. Likely because there is someone from Bemidji State University and he forgot his beaver.

After orientation (part 1) we boarded buses and headed to MV Explorer. Quite a nice drive through the Costa Rican mountains down to the coast.

Eager in her Cabin onboard MV Explorer

We boarded MV Explorer and checked into our Cabin – it is very nice with a huge balcony (bigger than last year). Eager seems comfortable. More orientation this afternoon and tomorrow.

Maymester Day 2 – Hello San Jose, Costa Rica

John Girard — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:57:22 +0000

Eager flying in style, enroute to San Jose

Day 2 of our adventure started a little like Day 1 … way too early! We were checked out of the hotel by 4:30AM and checked-in for our flight by 4:45AM … we could have (should have) slept for an another 45 minutes. Turns out there is not a long line at Miami Airport at 4:40 in the morning.

Our first flight was back to Atlanta, wait just a minute, weren’t we in Atlanta yesterday? What was the purpose of flying to Fort Lauderdale, driving to Miami, just so we could get up early to fly back to Altana … we need a new travel planner (John … you’re fired!).

The flight from Atlanta to San Jose was very pleasant. The three of us were upgraded, so eager was allowed out of her plastic bag for the flight. We watched “War Horse” which turned out to be an excellent movie, highly recommended.

We arrived in San Jose about noon and met up with several friends who are also sailing on Maymester. A quick shuttle to the hotel and it was time to hang out by the pool. We have a social tonight but we are not sure if Eager is invited … might smuggle her in … or maybe she will be “home alone.”

Tomorrow work starts. After breakfast, faculty and staff orientation starts and then we head down to MV Explorer. Orientation will continue on board for the next couple of days. The students arrive on Monday.

Maymester through Eager’s Eyes – Day 1

John Girard — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:09:30 +0000

Eager's early start at Minot Airport

JoAnn, John, and “Eager” – our beaver friend – began their Maymester adventure with Semester at Sea very early on 17 May .. when we say early … we mean way too early! I guess a good indication that a day starts too early is when you watch the sunrise at the airport!

In case you are wondering why we are travelling with Eager … well, we’ve decided to share the adventure by capturing pictures of Eager as she completes the voyage.

The day was long but uneventful, three flights, no lost bags, and a driver waiting for us in Fort Lauderdale. From Fort Lauderdale we drove to Miami and checked into our hotel (right on the airport property),which was very convenient but a little pricey. All in all a great day.

Eager enjoying the MSP Skyclub

John provides SBHE welcome at Dickinson State University

John Girard — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:25:52 +0000

John was honored to participate in Dickinson State University’s Commencement where he provided the welcome on behalf of the North Dakota Board of Higher Education.The highlight of the day was talking to the many great students and hearing the stories of what comes next. Congratulations to all the graduates and thanks to the faculty and staff for helping the students be successful.

Thanks to Fernando Quijano for the photo of John with Dickinson State President D.C. Coston.

Below is a video of John’s welcome.

JoAnn and John to Sail on Maymester 2012 Semester at Sea Voyage

John Girard — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:43:55 +0000

We are excited to be returning to MV Explorer for the Maymester 2012 voyage with Semester at Sea. We are absolutely convinced this is the best study abroad opportunity for students and we are so happy to part of the adventure once again. We have a great itinerary this year, with ports of call in Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Belize and the USA. We have field trips planned to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands, both of which are high on our bucket list. We depart for San Jose on 17 May and hope to post along the way.

John & JoAnn at Middle East Leadership Communication Forum

John Girard — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:10:52 +0000

On April 23 and 24, John and JoAnn Girard participated in the Middle East Leadership Communication Forum in Abu Dhabi. As the scientific partner, Sagology worked with Success Steps Conferences and Seminars to ensure the content was of high quality and relevant to the theme. We were extremely happy with the facilitators, participant engagement, and organization of the forum.

John facilitated two sessions, the slides from each are available at the links below:

Here are the slides to John’s April workshops in Abu Dhabi:

Leading Knowledge

Video of John’s Keynote in East London, South Africa

John Girard — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:33:04 +0000

John presented “Guiding Organizations into the Future” at the International Conference on the Knowledge Economy (ICKE) 2011 in East London, South Africa. ICKE 2011 builds on the foundation of ICKE 2009, which was in Johannesburg. This year’s conference included a much more diverse group of folks from around the African continent and the world. One of the most engaging conferences I have had the opportunity to attend. The organizers did a brillant job, special thanks to Nolwazi Mbananga, Zuko Mbele and the great folks from ACES (www.aceconferences.co.za).

Video highlights of our KM workshop in East London, South Africa

John Girard — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 23:34:04 +0000

John and JoAnn faciltated a pre-cofernece workshop at ICKE 2011 in East London, South Africa. The workshop was based on their book “A Leader’s Guide to Knowledge Management.” See www.sagology.com/30 for more information about the book.

Middle East Leadership Communication Forum, Abu Dhabi, 23/24 April

John Girard — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:27:51 +0000

John is excited to be part of the first Middle East Leadership Communication Forum, which will be in the beautiful Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi on 23/24 April 2012. The Forum is organized by Success Steps Conferences & Seminars of Abu Dhabi, the same people who organized KM Middle East 2012. The lead facilitator will be Lorri Lennon of the Centre for Leadership Communication, based in Australia. In addition to Lorri and John, the Forum speakers include Adel Husain Al Rabeea and Dr. Ali Awad Sharab.

John’s talk and workshop at KM Middle East 2012

John Girard — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:15:51 +0000

KM Middle East 2012 was a great success. John’s talk “Empowering Knowledge Workers in the Arab World” is available here and his workshop “Knowledge Sharing in a 2.0 World” is available here. Photos of the events are here.

Other speakers included:

HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh (www.talalabughazaleh.com)
David Gurteen (www.gurteen.com)
Arthur Shelley (www.organizationalzoo.com)
Chris Colliosn (www.chriscollison.com)
Nolwazi Mbananga (www.cikmke.co.za)
Noha Abed
Elize Bisanz