Last week we were honoured to be selected as the leader in building "Healthy Communities" at the West Shore (Victoria) Chamber Business Awards. Actually, we're thrilled with this nod because it demonstrates that we're achieving our goals of "ongoing commitment to support and engagement within the community".

Pictured at right: Aaron Spargo, Monkido Activity Supervisor, and Bo Li, West Shore Victoria Park Manager.

Being noticed by others is a clear sign that we are meeting the standards we have set for our company - as well as a lesson in achieving excellence. It would be comfortable to rest on our laurels, it would be easy to do the bare minimum, it would be simpler to never engage within our communities - but doing so would earn us a deserved "F" on our measure of success. Instead, getting to excellence requires the dedicated traveler to take the harder, often obstructed, route.

As a company, WildPlay has four values that inspire everything we do: evolving the guest, nurturing our employees, tasting the dirt (environmental improvement), and sharing the fruit (community support). It's not always easy or simple to fulfill each of these criteria, as individuals or as a group. However, in overcoming our trials and living each of our values, we realize our greatest purpose - providing people with an opportunity to achieve their own personal excellence. That's an A+ on our score sheet.

During the Business Awards ceremony we learned another lesson in measuring excellence - the higher we set the bar for ourselves, the more our guests can achieve through their WildPlay Experience.

Tim Cormode, Executive Director at Power to Be Adventure Therapy (our Charity of Choice partner) recounted the visit a family from his Society had at a WildPlay Park this year.

A father who had been confined to a wheelchair for almost the entire time his two children have known him came to do the Monkido^® Course. Despite being paraplegic, Dad managed to complete the first two course sections. For one of the first times in their lives, his children were able to see him as their "able father".

This story is amazing and inspiring to all of us at WildPlay, and shows the diversity by which we as individuals measure our success. At our Parks, we often see people overcome physical, mental, and emotional challenges during their adventures. From sight restrictions, to fear of heights, prosthetic limbs, age, and cognitive development, all nature of barriers have been conquered. Each "win" standing for a personal measure of excellence achieved by our guests.

We're happy to carry the torch as advocates for a healthy West Shore community (as well as in all our Park communities) by holding ourselves true to our values; we hope to continue doing even more by holding true to the ultimate measure of excellence we can set... empowering others through accessible play.

Congratulations to our West Shore Victoria team! Your strong dedication to making a difference is an example for our clan to aspire to.

[Congrats to our fellow West Shore Chamber Award Winners also!
See the full list of recipients.]

Your Yardstick - Some WildPlay Ways to Measure Excellence!

Gain new perspective.
Getting your feet off the ground is the foundation for our Elements, and is also the best way to see life from a different angle (literally!)

Challenge your abilities.
Just putting yourself in new situations is an example of taking responsibility for your life - an excellent way to succeed in all things.

Learn new tricks.
The "perfect" zip line body position is not the most natural of poses. However, discovering that small tweaks to your form can improve your ride is a lesson well earned, and a change well measured.

Help someone else out.
Sometimes achieving someone else's goal is just as (or more) important as achieving your own. Try to put your spouse, neighbour, or a stranger first to see how positivity pays off.

Try, fail, and try again!
The monkey bars, Tarzan swings, and spinning yellow balls on our Monkido^® courses prove that success can be had through perseverance. Bounce back from a failure and measure your success by your ability to accept flaws and improve.

Finish the course.
We agree, crossing the finish line is one of the most fulfilling measures of excellence - so go ahead and celebrate achieving this measure the most!