WHERE USSSA MEMBERS SHARE THEIR LATEST OR ALL-TIME FAVORITE READS AND WHY! “ We read to know we’re not alone.” WILLIAM NICHOLSON SHADOWLANDS
BY MIREN OCA OWNER OCAQUATICS
I am grateful to the USSSA and the friends I have made in this organization. Their support was extremely invaluable to me over the last 14 months especially with the uncertainty of the health of our businesses as well as the health of our family members, our team members and ourselves. During the period of isolation the USSSA organized various zoom calls and we discussed all sorts of topics relating to this complicated time of COVID. Being an avid reader, on one of these calls, I made a recommendation to start a book club since we all found ourselves with extra time on our hands. And thus was born the Swim Friends Support Book Club on April 23, 2020! Our first book was The Customer Experience by John DiJulius and it was a perfect book to prepare us for the time post COVID when we went back to taking care of our swimming families. It kept us all future focused and thinking positively during a time when we did not know what was going to happen next. And it is probably a good thing we had no idea that a year later we would still be having discussions around COVID! We started with 21 people from 9 different states. A year later, there are still 12 of us that show up on a consistent basis. We are on our 14th book and still going strong! We set reading assignments each week and meet each Thursday afternoon to discuss what we have read. It takes us about 3-5 weeks to read each book. Each person has made recommendations on books to add to the reading list and democracy always rules when we select the next book. All of the books we have read have been business or nonfiction and we have learned so many life and business lessons during the pandemic. I know that we are all going into a busy season. But this is an activity that I would encourage you to try especially if you are interested in talking to people in your industry on a regular basis and learning together. This has been an important part of self-care for each of us during this challenging time. In addition to learning while reading, I believe talking with friends on a regular basis has helped all of our mental health during the last year. Happy reading!
20 | USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG
