HUMORIST, DR. JOEL GOODMAN TO PRESENT  
FREE LECTURE ON HUMOR AND ITS BENEFITS

OCEAN CITY, N.J. --- “Laughter is the best medicine.” Readers Digest has proclaimed this for years. And recently it’s become an accepted fact that laughter does have therapeutic benefits.

“When you laugh, respiration and circulation are enhanced and stress related hormones are suppressed. The bodies immune systems are activated and it even helps to open blood vessels,” according to research studies from the University of Maryland.

The benefits of humor will be emphasized in an entertaining manner on Fri., April 20 when Dr. Joel Goodman comes to town. Goodman will give a talk at the Ocean City Free Public Library starting 7 p.m.. Admission is free. The public is invited.

The program will open the City’s annual Doo Dah Weekend, a celebration of humor now in its 22 year. On Sat., April 21, the annual Doo Dah Parade kicks off at noon with New York TV legend Joe Franklin as grand marshal  and  F Troops Larry Storch and Soupy Sales, special guests. There will be a Pieasco in front of the Music Pier, Boardwalk and Moorlyn Terrace, following the Parade. When Soupy gives the signal 100 people sitting in grandstands will smoosh each other in the face with shaving cream pies. That should suppress plenty of stress hormones.

Dr. Goodman agrees. He is the founder of the Humor Project in Saratoga Springs, New York and has authored eight books on humor. He edits a quarterly magazine, Laughing Matters, which is read by thousands in 20 countries. Joel’s latest book is Laffirmations, 1,001 Ways to Add Humor to Your Life and Work.

Goodman has been a pioneer in educating individuals on how to develop and use their sense of humor. His work has been featured on television, radio shows, newspapers and magazines in over 150 countries including The Today Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, PBS, ABC News, CBS, the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and many others. He has been retained by over 100 corporations to lecture employees on the benefits of humor.

Described as the first full time humor educator in the world, Goodman was presented the International Lifetime of Laughter Award along with Willard Scott and Meadowlark Lemon. He was also named Business Person of the Year by Business Review.

Goodman is the founder of AHA, the American Humor Association, which includes over 160,000 members. His Humor Project has awarded grants to over 400 schools, hospitals and agencies to help develop services that utilize the positive power of humor.

Goodman takes his work seriously and himself “very lightly.”   He agrees with Victor Borge’s notion “that a smile is the shortest distance between two people.”

For information, contact the Public Relations Office, 609-525-9300 or email msoifer@hotmail.com.