D+A is Turning 20!
Isn’t it wonderful the effects a few days of holidays away from the office can have? With time to be still and gather together for several delicious meals over the past couple of weeks, punctuated by walks in the mountains and downhill skiing, I’ve had the time to reflect on how lucky I am.
This entire holiday season is a sweet collection of memories filled with family, friends and neighbours. As we sat around counting our blessings on New Years’ Day, I listed our company as a prominent one. 2016 marks 20 years that our family-owned-and-operated company has been helping governments, companies, NGOs and communities to build the very thing that creates such richness at this time of year – community.
With its origins in strategic and sustainability planning, our little company has completed more than 500 different community and stakeholder engagement projects in every province and major city of our country. We have worked with federal, provincial, municipal and Aboriginal governments to develop plans, strategies and laws, to seize opportunity, calm controversy, resolve social upheaval and create consensus where only hard feelings once existed. We have worked with companies to help craft projects that are more acceptable to the people impacted by them.
Our training program is one of our particular strengths. Building capacity for people and organizations to resolve their own disputes through structured engagement is truly a labour of love. Helping people to understand that respect for personal, family and community values is the starting place for a rich and potentially collaborative discussion that explores possibilities that ease tensions, creates acceptance and builds trust is a wonderful way to spend our time at work. Helping people to improve the quality of the decisions they make typically means those decisions are more durable over time, more cost effective, more strategic and, simply, more just.
So the mission of building understanding, empathy, relationships and trust is what we have come to be known for and good at. A fine blessing indeed.
As we kick off 2016, all of us at Delaney + Associates want to wish you success and abundant blessings for the New Year. We also want to invite you to help us celebrate our 20th anniversary.
There are many exciting plans coming together through 2016 to mark this major milestone, and we hope you’ll stay tuned to watch for:
- Celebratory events in major cities across Canada
- Special blog and newsletter series
- Exciting promotions, contests and offers
As our valued clients and friends, we want to celebrate you and show our appreciation as we mark two decades in business. Follow us on social media and check this space later this month (and often through 2016) to take part in the festivities.