CRRC: A breakfast of optimism with a bit of rock / paper / scissors

If the mood in the room at the Charles River Regional Chamber’s Annual Fall Business Breakfast is an indicator, the local economy in the four CRRC communities — Needham, Newton, Watertown, and Wellesley – is full of connection, achievement, optimism, and promise. (See NewTV video.)

Four hundred representatives of CRRC member organizations – businesses and nonprofit organizations – gathered for breakfast at the Marriott Hotel on November 1 to:

• Celebrate the success and character of Darryl Settles — this year’s winner of the CRRC’s highest honor, the R. L. Tennant Award
• Learn about the work of the Samaritans in suicide prevention, stress management, and the power of human connection and caring
• Play a rapid-fire tournament of Rock/Paper/Scissors and learn its lessons for optimism and wellbeing
• Network and catch up with old and new connections

R. L. Tennant Award: Darryl Settles

CRRC president Greg Reibman introduced this year’s R. L. Tennant Award honoree, Newton resident Darryl Settles, with high praise: “a serial entrepreneur and transformational civic activist; …a strong and persistent advocate for sharing wealth with the BIPOC business community, …opening doors for women and people of color to build wealth;  …a founding member of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts; …a thought-leader and doer in Boston and on Beacon Hill…and in our [CRRC] communities; …a chair of the Newton Economic Development Commission.” Reibman also quoted Steve Grossman saying, “Darryl has spent a lifetime turning moral leadership into positive action.”

Darryl Settles thanked Reibman and the CRRC and said, “Being a good neighbor is founded on a feeling of deep respect and responsibility for those around you.”  He spoke of his efforts to “help erase the boundaries of our neighborhoods [and] help all of our neighborhoods to thrive.”  “Each of us can do something to improve our neighborhood. That commitment to help our neighbor ends with our mutual success.” He described his career-long efforts to facilitate communication, promote advocacy through community forums, address economic inequality, and increase access and diversity in Boston’s commercial real estate sector.

Keynote Speaker: Steve Gross

Steve Gross, the founder and chief playmaker at Life Is Good’s nonprofit Playmaker Project, delivered the keynote presentation, which he kicked off with a “mind-altering experience – a Rock/Paper/Scissors tournament.” He explained that all in the room could choose whether to participate (most did), and each round of the tournament consisted of a pair of contestants finding each other, holding “warm, loving eye contact” for five seconds, then bowing to each other, and then playing one round of Rock/Paper/Scissors. Those who won the round then found their next opponent among the remaining winners, and those who did not win took on the role of supporting the winners in their branch of the tournament in all subsequent rounds. In only four minutes, the room of 400 players completed multiple rounds and coalesced into two huge groups of people cheering on the two finalists: Imani Carver of Lasell University and Alejandro Miranda of Boylston Properties. Miranda won the final round, and both finalists were awarded Life Is Good clothing of their choice.

400-person tournament narrows field to 2 finalists — in four minutes

Steve Gross then spoke of his work (and play!) with children and others who have dealt with pain, fear, loss, adversity, and injustice.  He said, “A practicing optimist doesn’t stop being able to see the opportunities and the goodness amidst the challenges and the pain,” and he talked of “not going to work, but coming to play — showing up with joy and love and connection and passion.” He outlined four ingredients of play (and of social emotional wellbeing): Joy (an enduring sense of positivity), social connection, active engagement, and internal control (a sense of agency). He promoted a habit of optimism (not “I have to…” but “I get to…”) and he suggested asking, “What can this pain show me?  How can I take this experience and make sure others don’t feel this pain?”

Samaritans

Guest speaker Kathleen Marchi, executive director of Samaritans, spoke of the power of human connection in managing stress. She explained the core actions of Samaritans volunteers — Listen, Ask, and Get Help — and related them to everyday stress management. She recommended Hey Sam (the Samaritans’ peer-to-peer texting for up to age 24) and explained that anyone should feel comfortable calling 988 (the nationwide suicide prevention line) for ANY reason.