Wilde About Humor Award
The Wilde About Humor Award is granted annually for our professional association to recognize a company, organization, or system that enthusiastically demonstrates the utilization of applied and/or therapeutic humor in the world of business.
This prestigious honor is named in recognition and appreciation of Larry Wilde, noted humorist and humor historian. The purpose of this annual award is to recognize a company, organization, or system that enthusiastically demonstrates the utilization of applied and/or therapeutic humor* in the world of business.
This utilization may come via any or all of the following: Leadership, Marketing, Advertising, Customer Service, and/or Corporate Culture.
2011 Nominations for this award are due by October 1, 2010.
Please submit the company’s
name and a brief description of why they are deserving of this award. Nominations
may also include support materials such as print (ads, collateral,
etc.) and electronic examples (CD, DVD) that convey the essence of the
nominee’s utilization of applied and/or
therapeutic humor* in the world of business.
Nominations may be sent to AATH either by e-mail (staff@aath.org) or
to the AATH office at 65 Enterprise, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656.
The presentation of this award will be made at the 2011 AATH Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, April 7-10, 2011.
* Humor that decreases stress, sparks creativity, builds self-esteem, strengthens productivity, builds relationship and rapport, fosters a sense of inclusiveness, makes employees and staff feel good about themselves!
The recipient of the 2010 Wilde About Humor award is Red Robin restaurants. AATH thus acknowledges our appreciation for the fact that one of their proudly-declared corporate values is: Fun. From their company statement: “Fun infuses everything we do. It's a bit rebellious for a big company to admit, but fun is what keeps us vibrant, fresh and always willing to seek out and learn new things.”
AATH also wishes to honor Red Robin’s expressed values of “respect for our fellow team members [employees] and celebrating the individuality of each and every guest,” and their serious and effective efforts to reduce their environmental impact - truly a challenge for any large food service-oriented company. At Red Robin’s restaurants, the wait staff wear the company’s fundamental values of “Honor, Integrity, Knowledge and Fun” declared on their shirt sleeves. Another admirable program is their “Unbridled Acts®” where employees are encouraged to perform random (and deliberate) acts of kindness and charity directed to make a contribution to the community. AATH members who have visited the company’s 400 restaurants praise the fact that at Red Robin they “walk their talk” and make every effort to assure that every guest has an experience filled with humor, laughter, playfulness… and of course, Fun.
2009 Winners:
First Place: Kaiser Permanente
First Runner-up: Poarch Creek Indian Health Dept.
Second Runner-up: rL Solutions
Television actor, motivational speaker, and best-selling author Larry Wilde
is recognized as the nation's leading authority
on ways to improve life with laughter.
As a standup comedian for over 30 years, Larry has appeared in major nightclubs, Las Vegas showrooms, and at concerts around the U.S. A partial list of the many big time performers he shared the bill with reads like a "Who's Who in Show Business." The stars include Debbie Reynolds, Ann-Margret, Rosemary Clooney, Jack Jones, Andy Williams, Vikki Carr, Pat Boone, Wayne Newton, Sonny & Cher, McGuire Sisters and Gordon McCrae, among others.
His television credits include several appearances on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Sanford & Son, Rhoda, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and a host of other sit coms.
Larry is also the author of 53 published books of humor. With sales of over 12 million copies, The New York Times calls him "America's Best-Sellling Humorist."
Recognized as the nation's leading authority on ways to improve life with laughter, Larry is in great demand as a motivational speaker and appears nationwide for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and healthcare professionals.
