24 HOURS IN NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS - GENERAL MILLS EVENT (MARCH 2008)

Greg Forbes Siegman is the real-life person upon whom The First Thirty by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson is based. In 2007, The First Thirty was honored as NSDLC Multicultural Relations Book of the Year. In March 2008, Greg traveled to Naperville, Illinois to speak at a quarterly event for General Mills and its West Chicago plant. This part of the website features photos, feedback and links regarding the event in particular and the trip in general -- including the people and places who unexpectedly crossed his path along the way. The italicized notes in parentheses are personal comments from Greg

MONDAY
	Shortly after arriving in Naperville and checking into the (highly recommended!) Holiday Inn Select, Greg stopped by the local Barnes & Noble where they carry The First Thirty. (Don't live in Naperville and want to get the book? You can get it online by clicking HERE).

Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The 11-10-02 Foundation. Mike Lynn, who also serves on the Board, happened to be in Naperville. So, that night, the two went to dinner. For more on The 11-10-02 Foundation, visit www.ShakingUpAmerica.org  They would love to have you or your company support their efforts to help young people with their education! To read about Greg's connections with Nonprofit Organizations, click Here.

After dinner, Greg visited a local Starbucks where he spent some time working on a current portrait he is drawing and having an impromptu talk about art and civil rights with the (INCREDIBLY NICE!) staff. For more on Greg's art, visit www.MySleeplessNights.com

TUESDAY
	The next morning, Greg met with General Mills staff for breakfast (had Cheerios, of course!). The day-long event then began -- with General Mills representatives recognizing some great nonprofit organizations they had selected to give financial support as part of the company's ongoing commitment to the community.

Later on, Greg was brought up to the stage to speak with those in attendance for about an hour.  He reflected on a variety of issues that are central to success in the workplace including:  taking an interest in the people who impact the lives of those who work with you and for you (such as their families), adapting to changes, treating all colleagues with respect regardless of their position, seeing the 'big picture' while working on minute details, making unpopular decisions for the overall good of the organization, responding to setbacks, staying focused on your mission, perseverance and leadership.... ....in the context of a discussion with the attendees about a variety of decidedly non-traditional topics for a 'business' event, such as:  Grandma's, Rocky Balboa, Abraham Lincoln, chess, the tv show Lost, milkshakes, dinner reservations, and mismatched socks.

"I read The First Thirty and having it come to life through Greg's presence was awesome...Great message that really hit home with our folks. It isn't rocket science, [just] real-world practical advice about living. Obviously our group really enjoyed it and they are still talking about it. I appreciate Greg coming early and staying with us through lunch - he visibly demonstrated how one individual can make a difference in people's lives. Very impactful. He exceeded my expectations." - - Mike Noble, Plant Manager, General Mills West Chicago

(One of the funny, ironic moments: It turned out one of the people in attendance happened to be wearing a Rocky t-shirt under his General Mills shirt, and came up to show me after we discussed Rocky during the speech)

"I wanted to thank Greg for speaking at our [event] yesterday. All of his knowledge, experiences, and life lessons are truly valuable. My boss let me borrow [her copy of The First Thirty] and I am excited to read it. I am really impressed how he was able to engage all of us in the audience. I thank him again for taking time to talk with all of us and for getting to know some of the folks at General Mills. His art work was absolutely fantastic." - Allison, General Mills

In advance of the event, General Mills ordered some copies of The First Thirty for staff members who won a raffle. Those in the Food & Beverage industry, click HERE. To order copies of the books, workbooks, or posters for your Board, donors, volunteers or students, email Books@IdeaListEnterprises.com

Following the event, Greg joined thirty of the attendees for a fun, social lunch.

The conversation ranged from Illinois sports to Louisiana politics and a bunch of points in between. It has become a fun tradition for Greg to eat with new friends in different cities where he speaks. For more on those meals, see www.ShakingUpAmerica.com

GREG-GENERAL MILLS HISTORY

For Greg, this particular event held special meaning - given his lifelong connection to one of General Mills' products (Cheerios).    He has been eating Cheerios all his life.   When he started his nonprofit foundation, he started using his Cheerios boxes as filing cabinets.   A couple years ago, he was a guest speaker at an event for hundreds of business and civic leaders, hosted by several Mayors in the part of Minnesota where General Mills is based.   And earlier this year, he took a special tour of General Mills' West Chicago plant. [The tour of the West Chicago plant was one of the coolest things I've had the chance to do in a long time.  It literally felt like I'd entered Willy Wonka's factory!] To see some fun photo examples of Greg and his beloved Cheerios, click Timeline on www.GregForbes.com

THE ELEVATOR PROJECT

During this trip to Naperville, Greg gave away two special copies of The First Thirty as part of the ongoing "The First Thirty Elevator Project." On this trip, one recipient was a woman who worked at Starbucks.  Another was the hostess at the hotel restaurant.  In the latter case, she qualified for the Project when she took the initiative to teach Greg a sentence in her native language To learn more about The First Thirty Elevator Project, go to www.TheFirstThirty.com and click Elevator Project. We'd love to have you sponsor a copy or copies as part of the Project!

CROSSING PATHS
	As always, Greg's trip was filled with unexpected meetings and adventures. Here are pictures of some more of the memorable people and places who crossed his path during the trip...

To get The First Thirty (ISBN: 0975879405) in Naperville, visit Barnes & Noble Naperville To get it in person in Chicago, try Borders (Clark/Diversey - 150 N State - Michigan Ave - Deerfield - Highland Park)

To get the book or companion workbook or posters right here online, go to www.TheFirstThirty.com , click Shopping Cart For more information, visit www.GregForbes.com  or www.TheFirstThirty.com  or www.MySleeplessNights.com  or www.ShakingUpAmerica.com To inquire about booking Greg for an event, email Events@GregForbes.com

Special thanks to Mike, Duane, Chris, Kim and all the great people at General Mills, as well as Dennis and the staff at Holiday Inn Select, and all the really nice people I met in Naperville Illinois during the trip!