There’s a term I am grateful to wear with pride: Shenanigator. It means someone who stirs up playful mischief — but always in service of joy, connection, and community. I come from a long line of them. My grandmother was one. My mother, too. And me? Well, I’ve made a career — and a calling — of bringing people together through a little spark of organized fun.
It’s not about being the loudest in the room. It’s about being the glue — the one who sees how people might fit, how ideas might link, how laughter might unlock hearts that have stayed too tightly closed.
A Legacy of Lighthearted Leadership
My grandma regularly organized community fundraisers for the Fireman’s Pancake Breakfast in Lake George, Minnesota – complete with homemade touches and charm that only a true Shenanigator could pull off – blue pancakes anyone? My mother brought that same energy to everything she touched: white elephant booths at the Addison Elementary School fair, Blue Bird adventures, Bingo at the senior center, and eventually, back in Lake George again, she founded the now-legendary Blueberry Festival Parade — still going strong decades later.
They didn’t just create events. They created belonging.
That’s the essence of being a Shenanigator — it’s not the prank, it’s the connection that follows.
From Pancakes to Product Launches
In my own career in high-tech marketing, I became known for orchestrating the very same magic — only this time on tradeshow floors, in birds-of-a-feather meetups, customer forums, user groups. Wherever people needed a place to connect, share ideas, and grow together, I stepped in with a grin and a strategy.
Someone once called me a “Master Connector.” Another friend in Saudi Arabia simply said, “You’re the glue.” Both felt true. I see possibilities others might not see yet — intersections of technology, of people, of purpose. And I don’t just see them. I invite people to walk into them together.
That’s shenanigans with soul.
Joy That Binds Us
Some might think fun is frivolous. But I know better. Fun is foundational. It’s how we build trust, how we soften edges, how we open the door to something deeper.
Whether I’m helping a college classmate reconnect at a reunion or watching a woman’s group blossom into mutual support, what I see, again and again, is this: People want to be part of something meaningful. They want to contribute. They want to be seen.
Shenanigans, the good kind, create that opening. A silly game, a shared laugh, a surprise gesture and suddenly we’re not strangers anymore. We’re collaborators. We’re community.
A Spiritual Practice of Mischief
Organizing isn’t just what I do. It seems to be who I am. It’s my joy. It’s my ministry. And when I look back on all the moments I’ve helped make possible, not for recognition, but for the ripples they started, I feel immense gratitude. Indeed, ThankU.io Gratitude Platform has been a great opportunity for collaboration over the years – just for the joy of working together.
Gratitude for every messy planning session. Every time the family sat around the table and addressed postcards for some event I was creating. Every nametag sticker. Every last-minute “we need more chairs.” Every single moment someone walked away saying, “I needed that” and especially “I didn’t know I needed that.”
Those are magical, miracle moments in my life.
An Invitation to Stir the Pot
So here’s to the Shenanigators – the ones who stir the pot not to cause chaos, but to create connection. The ones who keep the glue stocked and the coffee brewing. The ones who understand that fun is a sacred ingredient in healing, organizing, gathering, and dreaming.
And if you see yourself in this, even a little, whether you’ve ever hosted a trivia night, planned a potluck, or introduced two people who ended up changing each other’s lives, then yes, welcome to the club.
Today, I am grateful for shenanigans. For joyful disruption. For the power of gathering. For every person who helps others feel like they belong.
Even if it starts with something as simple as a goldfish in a plastic bag at a school fair.