I can’t dance. I say this up front because when I tell you that I went to the latest Buddhagroove event, some of you may have images of me shaking my money-maker to the drumbeats. That didn’t happen. But I’ll tell you what did: I met a number of Tonic readers, hooked up with some current and past contributors and advertisers and had a great time. Buddhagroove is a social/business network that runs monthly events throughout the city.

I was approached by Helen Goldstein, the driving force behind the events, to attend. I checked out the website www.buddhagroove.ca and decided that it would be an interesting experience, and an opportunity to meet some people and get some feedback on the magazine.

I am not a ‘party’ person by nature, but this was such a unique environment – interactive drumming, live music, healthy-fresh food, that I found myself staying a lot longer than I had anticipated. I made connections with many new people, learning about their careers and goals and realizing the potential for collaboration. I was introduced to Eric Gilboord, an accomplished consultant and writer and within minutes I had an excellent article on ‘Binge Working’ – which will be published in the October issue of Tonic. www.EricGilboord.com.

I spent some time with the owners of Liloo www.liloo.ca a boutique specializing in home décor items imported from India. I chatted with Alex Leikermoser www.yogagurl.com and learned about her approach to the yoga lifestyle.

For some social/business networks are no particular revelation, and they are already participating. For me, it was a genuine eye-opener, and a true opportunity to connect. I will be going to the next event on October 30 at Whistler’s Grille. Perhaps I’ll see you there.

Regards, J

P.S. It is rare that you get to meet true ‘good guys’ in business, but I did recently. A chair I had purchased some years ago for my office had a broken wheel. My first inclination was to contact the manufacturer to get the replacement part. When I did, I was told to contact the store where I had purchased the chair. When I called, not only did the owner, David Cooper, remember me, he had my purchase on file and offered to give me the replacement part at no charge. In my view, his offer was well beyond the expected. When I went to pick up the new wheel, we chatted and I found out about all of his philanthropic initiatives. See for yourself: www.coopersoffice.com.