Difficult times can bring out the best in people, and that’s what’s happening around the globe right now.

About Vickie Sokol Evans

Fellow trainer Vickie Sokol Evans, who is recognised as the leading Microsoft trainer, is fighting curable, stage two breast cancer.

We met in person for the first time in July 2016, when I joined Vickie and her friend and business partner Bonnie Low-Kramen in New York City. They were presenting one of their renowned Be the Ultimate Assistant weekend workshops, and Bonnie invited me to drop by. Among Vickie’s first words to me? Something to the effect of loving my curls. We laughed, as would anyone who grew up with a head of hair that has a curly mind of its own.

Vickie Sokol Evans, Bonnie Low-Kramen, Shelagh Donnelly; NYC July 2016

This summer, Vickie is rocking scarves rather than curls. That’s a result of her chemotherapy. I first learned of Vickie’s cancer through a Facebook post in which she used her news to encourage people everywhere to undergo cancer screening on a routine basis.

Flash forward to this July, when I was one of a number of speakers presenting at the International Association of Administrative Professional’s IAAP Summit 2017. Before my own sessions, I was in the audience when Vickie gave two stellar, back-to-back presentations that empowered participants. Not only that, Vickie’s sessions also nurtured a highly elevated level of efficiencies for participants’ workplaces and employers – and that’s while the woman was dealing with chemotherapy!

How we’re coming together

Many of you know that I also write for Executive Secretary Magazine, published by Lucy Brazier. Lucy and Vickie’s peers from various countries have decided to what they do best, in order to raise funds to offer financial as well as emotional support to Vickie.

Lucy, to no one’s surprise, has taken the lead in organising a weekend-long webathon. The list of talented trainers who are sharing their expertise is impressive; you can have a look by clicking here, or going to http://executivesecretary.com/webathon/.

In Lucy’s words

“Treatment of the kind that she (Vickie) needs is fiercely expensive in the USA, but it is imperative to her recovery that she is worrying only about getting well and not about where she will find the money from.

So from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 September, we will be running an online webathon to raise money for Vickie Sokol Evans. It will feature the greatest line up of trainers for assistants ever assembled in one place and will cost you only $49 for a weekend pass to see as much or as little as you like.”

My webinar: Finding Your Voice – Public Speaking and More

I’m pleased to be part of this coming together of the administrative community. My webinar will focus on finding your voice.

I’ll be travelling on webinar weekend, on my way to present for EPAA, The Executive & Personal Assistants Association, in the UK. Like my fellow trainers, however, I’m working now on a webinar that will add to your professional development and provide meaningful support to Vickie. You can find full details by clicking here.

Lucy Brazier and her team are taking care of all the coordination, and the lineup is stellar. Will you join us?