In the first of these columns I wrote several years ago, I wrote about the importance of our having fun at what we do.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not having as much fun at the office as I’d like to lately, and I bet neither are many of you. Probably the hardest part of my job these days is to walk around our places with a smile, and, if I am lacking anything inspirational to say, at least not saying anything that expediting someone’s jumping into a grease pit..

So I’ve been thinking about ways to put some fun things back into our business. The idea of putting on a clown suit was pretty much of a non starter, and I didn’t think bringing in someone to do magic tricks during coffee breaks would help much, either.

But I think I can replicate an experience that I would say is the coolest thing I’ve ever done, and make it available to one of you. I’ve been able to do some pretty cool things, so to put this into some kind of context, let me brag about some of those other things.

I freely admit that I am probably the luckiest person I know.

Along with that has come the opportunity to do some pretty neat things, like go to some Super Bowls or watch the Celtics win many of their championships. I was at the old Boston Garden at a hockey game the night all the lights blew out. I was there when the Red Sox finally won a championship. I’ve been backstage with Sting, and got to have Springsteen autograph a guitar for me. I once had a chance to play rhythm guitar in Theo Epstein’s band, Trauser (which was hindered primarily by my inability to play the guitar). I met the late King Hussein at his palace in Jordan and had lunch once with the President of Rwanda. I had my picture taken and a lobster roll with President Clinton (I think he was looking down Patty’s dress).

(Even I find all this bragging thoroughly repulsive, but hang in there – it may go somewhere good).

But this was the coolest thing I ever did: last year, I got to throw out the first pitch at Fenway for a Red Sox game.

Part of what it was like was this: They let me and the several guests I was allowed to invite into the ballpark before the gates opened – it was just us and the players and the beer vendors setting up. We hung around the field to watch the player’s pre-game stretching routines and batting practice, and got a tour all over the ballpark. I think an autograph or two was involved (remarkably, no one asked for mine).

There was a dinner for us in there someplace, and then we were invited back down onto the field.

Now, I had known I was going to do this for some time, and so was pretty determined not to make a complete fool of myself in front of 34,327 people. I had probably last thrown a baseball back when I was coaching Jack in Little League 15 years ago. So I upped my gym routine, probably to twice a month, and worked on shoulder excercises – I was determined not to wind up on the DL from this experience.

When the PA announcer announced my name, I was escorted onto the field. I’m not sure all 34,327 fans were paying rapt attention — many had actually come to watch a baseball game, not to see me, but when you look around the park from the pitcher’s mound, there sure are a lot of folks looking at you. It turns out I later heard from maybe a dozen people hadn’t heard from in years, who aid they were there (kind of an extreme form of social networking, this. My name was up on the scoreboard (although I believe they may have deleted the Harr commercial I asked them to include).

I tried to spend a moment to take it all in, but the excitement is overwhelming. I pounded my old Rawlings glove, reared back, sort of, and threw a perfect strike. On about two bounces. Someone gave me back the ball, and I went back to my seat to watch the game. Later, I was sent a series of photos the Red Sox photographer took of the whole thing.

For reasons too complicated to go into, I was offered the opportunity to do this again this year. But I want to give it to one of you.

The way it’s going to work is this: Over the next week or so, each department head is going to set up individual goals for each of you. It might be based on cost savings in the office, on sales improvement in dealership sales, on new accounts brought in a MHQ. Each department will have a winner. The criteria will be based on specific metrics, so, much as the thought has some appeal to me, the winner will not be the team member who sucks up to me the most.

Late this summer, we’ll have a company event at which the names of each department winner will be placed in a drum. I’ll draw the wining name., and, on September 6, one of us will throw out the first pitch at Fenway.

The package comes with 4 seats that belong to one of the owners right behind the dugout, as well as most of the things I described above. I’ll probably come up with a couple of more enhancements as the season goes along.

This is a perk not many companies get to offer, and probably fewer do.

I hope the competition will inject some fun back into our business as spring and summer go along.

I wish you all good luck.

Note from Charles: This is the column I write for members of the Harr / MHQ Team on a monthly basis. The column is invariably late, and, occasionally, makes no sense whatsoever, even to me. I used to think I would know I was truly wealthy when I could hire someone to play golf for me. I have lowered my goals. Now I just want someone to write this bleeping column for me. In any event, here goes….

Enough of this %&#@. Let’s Have Some Fun.

In the first of these columns I wrote several years ago, I wrote about the importance of our having fun at what we do.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not having as much fun at the office as I’d like to lately, and I bet neither are many of you. Probably the hardest part of my job these days is to walk around our places with a smile, and, if I am lacking anything inspirational to say, at least not saying anything that expediting someone’s jumping into a grease pit..

So I’ve been thinking about ways to put some fun things back into our business. The idea of putting on a clown suit was pretty much of a non starter, and I didn’t think bringing in someone to do magic tricks during coffee breaks would help much, either.

But I think I can replicate an experience that I would say is the coolest thing I’ve ever done, and make it available to one of you. I’ve been able to do some pretty cool things, so to put this into some kind of context, let me brag about some of those other things.

I freely admit that I am probably the luckiest person I know.

Along with that has come the opportunity to do some pretty neat things, like go to some Super Bowls or watch the Celtics win many of their championships. I was at the old Boston Garden at a hockey game the night all the lights blew out. I was there when the Red Sox finally won a championship. I’ve been backstage with Sting, and got to have Springsteen autograph a guitar for me. I once had a chance to play rhythm guitar in Theo Epstein’s band, Trauser (which was hindered primarily by my inability to play the guitar). I met the late King Hussein at his palace in Jordan and had lunch once with the President of Rwanda. I had my picture taken and a lobster roll with President Clinton (I think he was looking down Patty’s dress).

(Even I find all this bragging thoroughly repulsive, but hang in there – it may go somewhere good).

But this was the coolest thing I ever did: last year, I got to throw out the first pitch at Fenway for a Red Sox game.

Part of what it was like was this: They let me and the several guests I was allowed to invite into the ballpark before the gates opened – it was just us and the players and the beer vendors setting up. We hung around the field to watch the player’s pre-game stretching routines and batting practice, and got a tour all over the ballpark. I think an autograph or two was involved (remarkably, no one asked for mine).

There was a dinner for us in there someplace, and then we were invited back down onto the field.

Now, I had known I was going to do this for some time, and so was pretty determined not to make a complete fool of myself in front of 34,327 people. I had probably last thrown a baseball back when I was coaching Jack in Little League 15 years ago. So I upped my gym routine, probably to twice a month, and worked on shoulder excercises – I was determined not to wind up on the DL from this experience.

When the PA announcer announced my name, I was escorted onto the field. I’m not sure all 34,327 fans were paying rapt attention — many had actually come to watch a baseball game, not to see me, but when you look around the park from the pitcher’s mound, there sure are a lot of folks looking at you. It turns out I later heard from maybe a dozen people hadn’t heard from in years, who aid they were there (kind of an extreme form of social networking, this. My name was up on the scoreboard (although I believe they may have deleted the Harr commercial I asked them to include).

I tried to spend a moment to take it all in, but the excitement is overwhelming. I pounded my old Rawlings glove, reared back, sort of, and threw a perfect strike. On about two bounces. Someone gave me back the ball, and I went back to my seat to watch the game. Later, I was sent a series of photos the Red Sox photographer took of the whole thing.

For reasons too complicated to go into, I was offered the opportunity to do this again this year. But I want to give it to one of you.

The way it’s going to work is this: Over the next week or so, each department head is going to set up individual goals for each of you. It might be based on cost savings in the office, on sales improvement in dealership sales, on new accounts brought in a MHQ. Each department will have a winner. The criteria will be based on specific metrics, so, much as the thought has some appeal to me, the winner will not be the team member who sucks up to me the most.

Late this summer, we’ll have a company event at which the names of each department winner will be placed in a drum. I’ll draw the wining name., and, on September 6, one of us will throw out the first pitch at Fenway.

The package comes with 4 seats that belong to one of the owners right behind the dugout, as well as most of the things I described above. I’ll probably come up with a couple of more enhancements as the season goes along.

This is a perk not many companies get to offer, and probably fewer do.

I hope the competition will inject some fun back into our business as spring and summer go along.

I wish you all good luck.