Tim Gard - Testimonials/Client List

University of Wyoming
On behalf of the Park County Leadership Institute, I would like to recommend Tim Gard for a keynote presentation or workshop to any organization. We were extremely impressed with Tim's workshop on "Developing a Comic Vision." What a delightfully hilarious program he presents with good, clean humor and an excellent message. The Institute graduates are still raving about his program. Tim was so popular, we have him scheduled to come back next year!

Tim is also a nice, kind and caring individual. He is very easy to do business with and is honest and sincere.

We highly recommend Tim Gard as a workshop presenter. He gave us an entertaining and quick paced half-day workshop that we will never forget. He's great!
Rhonda Shipp, M.S., R.D.
University Extension Educator

Mountain State Chapter
National Eligibility Workers Association

Tim Gard has conducted workshops for the annual training conference of the Mountain State Chapter, National Eligibility Workers Association in 1994 and more recently, October 1996. He is always well received by conference participants.

For the closing session this past October, Tim presented his workshop, "Comic Vision II." All of the evaluations were positive. Some of the comments were: "Greatest workshop ever," "Do it again," "It was great," "Everyone needs to laugh," "Good workshop -- we need to look for humor more in the workplace," and "Tim's always a refreshing and energizing speaker/workshop leader."

Not only does Tim conduct wonderful, positive workshops, he is also good to work with while arranging the conference. Any human service organization will benefit by having Tim Gard give one of his presentations.
Margaret M. Mann, Member
Board of Directors
United States General Accounting Office

Let me congratulate you on making one of the finest presentations that members of our staff have ever had the privilege of hearing. I thought the applause would go on forever. During, immediately after, and continually since our annual staff meeting last Friday, I have heard nothing but praise for your presentation. Obviously your Comic Vision has helped us all see better what is most important and how to improve our work environment and our work productivity.

Here are just a few of the comments from our staff:

"I laughed until the tears welled up in my eyes!"
"I can't imagine a better presentation."
"Although I have attended Tim's sessions before, I still thoroughly enjoyed this presentation. He demonstrates that classic comic timing that make you want to see him over and over again."
"It was so wonderful to feel so good about ourselves. Tim made me feel happy about myself and my work."
Your ideas are ingenious, and I want to thank you sincerely for sharing them with us. We look forward to having you back again and I am confident the staff will be eager to have you "back by popular demand."
James H. Solomon
Deputy Regional Manager
Annual Meeting Chair
State of Michigan Family Independence Agency

As I was sitting here today, engulfed by welfare reform, it dawned on me that I have not taken time to thank you for your wonderful presentations that have helped, not only me personally, but many of my colleagues make it through stressful times like these. I have been present at several of your seminars and know many staff people in Michigan and throughout the nation who have had the pleasure of attending conferences where you have been either a keynoter or seminar speaker.

I personally find your presentations not only entertaining but educational. The degree with which your audience identifies with you and the situations you present is remarkable. It is wonderful to see, because I know that I learn more from a speaker I can identify with, and who understands my situation, than many 'experts' who propound their advise from an ivory tower.

As a conference organizer for both the Midwest Region Food Stamp Payment Accuracy effort and the American Association of Food Stamp Directors, I can confidently say that you are consistently one of our most highly-rated speakers. I have never heard or received any negative comments on any of your presentations. People leave your presentations feeling good about themselves and refreshed and ready to go back and handle the pressures of their jobs and lives. In fact, I have consistently recommended you to other conference organizers as a "can't miss, hit speaker."

I hope things are going well for you. Writing this letter and thinking about some of the things you have taught me have brightened my day.
Susan M. Hall, Manager
Food Stamps
State of Connecticut Department of Social Services

Thank you so much for attending our Food Stamp Payment Accuracy Conference. Our theme was "Fixing It Up and Making It Fun". You set the tone for our entire day and proved that it can be done.

As I am sure you could sense from the staff's reactions to your presentation, they could all totally relate to what you were talking about. As a former eligibility worker your perspective was certainly relevant, and I know they recognized and appreciated that point of view.

At the conference we asked participants to complete evaluations of the presentations. You were a hit! Accolades included "terrific, incredible, outstanding and fantastic." Other comments we received included:

"This proves you can have fun and learn too."
"Tim Gard improved my attitude."
"Tim was right on target and in the know for eligibility workers."
We can go on and on, but I think you can see what a success you were. We can hardly wait for your next visit to Connecticut. Again, thank you from me and my staff for making our Food Stamp conference an enormous success.
Joyce A. Thomas
Commissioner
Aurora Public Schools

Please accept this letter of recommendation for Tim Gard. I have had the pleasure of using Tim's incredible talents several times over the last few years.

Tim is able to use humor to focus a group and to remind them of the importance of respecting ourselves and each other. Research, in fact, indicates that laughter motivates people to think more creatively. Most recently, Tim was the "kick-off" speaker for the National Accelerated Schools Conference in Breckenridge, which I coordinated. Tim is able to incorporate the key words and concepts of an organization or group and weave them into his comic vision. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive for Tim's presentation. It set the right tone for the two-day conference and brought the group together with laughter. (And tears - many times people laugh so much they cry!)

Tim has also presented to the 130 administrators in the Aurora Public Schools as well as the staffs at many of our schools.

It is without reservation that I recommend Tim to work with any group that you would like to be collaborative, creative, visionary or well-functioning. Laughter is truly the key, and Tim is a professional who knows how to use humor to expand thinking and lift spirits.
Sue Clark
Director Organizational Support
Texas Department of Human Services

Not many people can take an hour and make it a lasting memory. You did! People are still telling your "zipper" story and "Pride & Joy" pictures are appearing everywhere. I never would have believed identifying ways to relieve stress could be so much fun. People were tired from laughing so hard. I am enclosing a few of the positive notes our Deputy Commissioner received from staff about your program.

I have had an inquiry about your program from the Internal Auditors and have given their representative all the information I have and your business card. I'm sure they will be in touch shortly if they haven't already called.

Thank you so much for presenting the program in such an "automation friendly" way. It was a perfect program for "Techies." It was a pleasure working with you and we look forward to working with you in the future.

I hope you didn't have any "Pond Scum" episodes on the flight home.
Shirley Wilson
Technical Education Manager
PacifiCare® Health Systems

We would like to thank you for coming to PacifiCare. You have given us a new way to deal with stress at work. The next day there were several people in the department that were using their nose flutes. To this day the crown is still being worn. I have noticed that there are family pictures hanging in their cubicles, and the day after the event Paul sent out jokes over E-mail. We have used your video for several staff meetings. Now we have passed your video on to other departments and the feedback we are getting is good. We have also witnessed people kicking their chairs at the end of the day and asking them to "stay." Paul Miller plans to do an event annually, so we will keep you in mind. We really enjoyed having you here. To this day I hear our staff members talking about you to others.
Liz Young