At BCA, excellence is defined not by outcomes alone, but by the commitment to grow beyond them.
Guests were welcomed in by a unique group activity. Alongside the keynote, BCA members and guests built LEGO versions of themselves and added them to a shared “BCA Community.” It was a simple, fun way to display that everyone brings something unique and that together, those differences create our shared community.
We were proud to welcome Olympian and keynote speaker Sarah Wells, whose journey from the 2012 Olympic Games to a second-place finish on The Amazing Race Canada reflects the very resilience and adaptability she now teaches.
Sarah challenged us to rethink excellence—not as perfection, but as progress. Drawing from years of training, setbacks, and high-performance competition, she shared practical strategies to break limiting beliefs, embrace a “training mindset,” and show up at a higher level every day.
Key takeaways:
- Failure is part of the path, not the end of it
- Redefine what it means to win
- Focus on your preparation, mindset, and habits rather than external outcomes
- You don’t wait to feel ready—you build confidence by showing up and doing the work
- Your present performance doesn’t define your ceiling
- Go ALL IN
EXCELLENCE RECIPIENT
Inspired by Sarah, members were invited to nominate a peer for an Excellence Recognition—not for a win, but for a moment where someone showed up the right way. The response was so strong, you will see Excellence Recipients spotlighted throughout the year.
Today’s recipient, nominated by Steve Wildemann of Advanced Staging, was Nick Lanzi, President & CEO of Direct Choice.
Quiet Excellence
Nick Lanzi
“Nick doesn’t typically do anything for the purpose of being noticed and this was a prime example of that. He introduced me to a prospective client of his who was planning to move their annual fundraiser to a new venue that did not have audio visual support. He said he immediately thought of me and made the introduction. To his credit, it was not done To his credit, it was not done to further his agenda but merely to help me and provide a resource to his prospect. He didn’t check back in to see how things were going and if it would benefit his cause. He thought of others and we both, I and our new client, benefited from his generosity.“
Steve Wildemann
CHARITY SPOTLIGHT
Covenant House Pennsylvania (CHPA) builds a bridge to hope for young people experiencing homelessness, humantrafficking and other forms of oppression through unconditional love and absolute respect.
To learn more, visit https://covenanthousepa.org/
FOCUS CATEGORIES
BCA is continuously looking to expand its exclusive membership list; focusing on finding the best quality companies to represent each category within our membership. We welcome recommendations in these focus or an open membership category. Contact Ralph Cosenza. 215-837-5914 or ralph@bcaphiladelphia.com. To see the list of open categories and to learn more, Click Here