On Saturday, June 2nd SoJo hosted its first ever team meeting. A year and a half into operations, this first team-wide meeting was well overdue. Although we've had tons of meetings in the past, all of the meetings were centred around discussing a certain issue/task. Up until now, there has not been an opportunity to regroup everyone, share our vision, and talk about SoJo with no agenda other than to give everyone a better understanding of how they fit into the team. With so much anticipation for this meeting, I was both excited and nervous. Extremely excited for the opportunity to finally bring the entire team together, but slightly nervous about a less than desired outcome.

With 3 virtual participants and 12 Toronto-based participants, we miraculously found a date that matched everyone's schedules. Steph was forced to leave an hour into the meeting, after feeling really ill. Thinking she was in bed, to all of our surprise she logged into the video conference and participated remotely for the rest of the meeting. The meeting lasted 5 hours, however time flew by so quickly that we all left wishing for more.

The Digital Media Zone was a great venue, as it was free and the staff here diligently ensured all of our technical needs were met without a hitch. The day started with an informal lunch and get-to-know-each other icebreaker activities. Everyone was on a mission to determine the oddest foods eaten by their fellow comrades and shared with the group the top of their bucket list.

We played picture games and told stories about SoJo, which will become the script for SoJo's next video. A skills development session on Networking was much appreciated, knowing that there are no shortage of events that SoJo will be participating in.

The bulk of the Agenda centered around better understanding SoJo. As most of our team is new and works remotely, it was imperative that we have an informal conversation about the organization, share how we got to where we are today, where we are headed, some of our challenges, and big things to look forward to. I am confident that everyone on the team now has a better understanding of SoJo and is even more excited about shaping its future.

Being the first time that everyone met each other, that too in one place, we were all marked by the differences and dynamism found within the team. It was equally clear however, that the diversity of SoJo's team will be one of its greatest strengths. At a loss of words, Trevor finished the day by saying, Hell yeah, let's do this; representing the renewed energy and excitement felt by everyone onboard.