Entertaining for a Cause

I spent the afternoon yesterday in Wendover, Nevada with Goldman Sachs employees and guests.  It was an unusual place for me to be, because I don’t drink, smoke or gamble, but I do like to observe business models, especially those relating to entertainment and finance.  I made good use of the Oceans Buffet of Montego Bay Casino.  (Oceans is one of the best tasting buffets I’ve been to, and there was a lot less smoke in Wendover than in Vegas.)  I also got to know some very capable people.

For example, through what I once thought was hard work and determination, I received an Eagle Scout award at age thirteen and a half.  Two of five people at my table had theirs six months to a year earlier!  How many people get there by seventeen, if at all?

The event was a fundraiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).  My friend Nicole works at Goldman’s Salt Lake office, now their second largest in America and fourth largest in the world.  Nicole is a long time athlete, one time dive team champion, and is now preparing for a marathon in support of the LLS.  I was amazed how many runners a non-track team could pack on one bus!  I learned a lot about full and half marathons in a few short hours.

The event also reinforced how valuable entertainment can be in promoting a non-profit cause.  In some ways, entertainment is the perfect partner for doing good.

As we formulate new entertainment industry ventures over the next weeks, months, and years, let us remember the power for good inherent in creativity and organization.

Whether you put together a bus trip to Wendover for leukemia or a golf tournament to support kids with disabilities like my friend Rod, you have power to make the world happier, healthier, and intrinsically wealthier.  Helping others succeed makes us better, too.

For more on how employees of Goldman Sachs support The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or to contribute, visit TeamInTraining.org!

With a bit of extra thought, we can all help entertainment--in some ways society’s modest common denominator--be put to its highest and best use.