KEEPING ABREAST

To keep abreast of the important goings-on in Jefferson County and West Virginia, I recommend the following sources:

Local News
The Journal (Daily from Martinsburg: www.journal-news.net)
The Herald Mail (Daily from Hagerstown: www.heraldmail.com)
The Spirit of Jefferson Farmers Advocate (Weekly from Charles Town)
The Observer (Monthly from Shepherdstown: www.theshepherdstownobserver.com)
1340 WEPM Panhandle Live (Weekdays 0900-1000)
740 WRNR Eastern Panhandle Talk (Weekdays 0840-1000)
Open Jefferson (Listserve re Jefferson County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OJ)
Listener (Listerv re Jefferson County: http://listener.homestead.com)

State News
Charleston Gazette (www.wvgazette.com)
Charleston DailyMail (www.dailymail.com)
State Journal (Weekly from Charleston)
1340 WEPM Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval (Weekdays 1000-1200)
Metronews: The Voice of West Virginia (www.wvmetronews.com)

Email me if you know of others that are important.

Alumni Continue Support of Program

Leadership Jefferson today received word of more sponsorships from alumni of the program. Laura Rattenni, who is a graduate of the second class of Leadership Jefferson, is pairing together with Joe Cosentini, also a graduate of the second class, to sponsor the Local Government Module to be held in December. Laura is the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Jefferson County and is personally sponsoring the module. Joe is Clerk of the City of Charles Town, which is providing the sponsorship funds. It's heartening to see the communication and cooperation between government officials of the County and its municipalities.

Nelson Parkinson, who is the general manager of the Holiday Inn Express of Charles Town -- which Nelson will point out is located in Ranson -- informed Leadership Jefferson that a group of which he is a member will sponsor the Economic Development Module to be held in November. That group is the Charles Town chapter of the Referral Network Exchange, or RNE. Moreover, Nelson has agreed to allow Leadership Jefferson to use its meeting room for the talk by Russ Sobel, economics professor and editor of the book The Rule of Law: Perspectives on Judicial and Legal Reform in West Virginia. Nelson is a graduate of the third class of Leadership Jefferson.

These sponsorships of $400 per module help make the program into a first class affair. The graduates of the LJ program and the community at large have been great supporters of the program, and their financial assistance is greatly appreciated.

BCT is Program Sponsor

I am pleased to announce that the Bank of Charles Town has agreed to serve again as the Program Sponsor of Leadership Jefferson. BCT's generosity and dedication to the community are essential in ensuring that Leadership Jefferson remains one of the top programs of its kind. With funding from BCT, participants in Leadership Jefferson are able to continue to experience what Jefferson County has to offer, from stays at the National Conservation Training Center to visits to PriestField Pastoral Center, from rafting down the Shenandoah to anti-terrorism drivers training at Summit Point Raceway. I want to particularly thank Bob Baronner, President of BCT, for his understanding of the value of LJ. His understanding is proven not only by the sponsorship of the program, but also by sending his best and brightest through the ten-month long educational process.

LJ IV Survives Opening Retreat

The fourth class of Leadership Jefferson completed its Opening Retreat over the past two days (Sep 17 and 18). The participants started off at the Quality Inn at Harpers Ferry, where they took a look at what leadership means and learned the names and backgrounds of fellow participants. The group then went white water rafting with River and Trail Outfitters. It was a cool and damp day, but the participants managed to make the most of the situation. Following the trip -- which involved very low water on the Shenandoah River, not to mention plenty of swallows, egrets, cormorants, great blue herons, and a couple of bald eagles -- the participants traveled to the National Conservation Training Center, where they had a great meal and then used the examples of the raft guides to discuss leadership skills. After enjoying the nice bar at the Commons at NCTC, the class stayed at one of the lodges at the facility. In case you are wondering, NCTC is top notch.

On Friday morning, the participants took a tour of NCTC and participated as the live audience for a filming of a Fish and Wildlife television show. After the tour, the group spent more time getting to know one another using the Origins Game, where folks told their life stories using maps of the world, US, and West Virginia. Immediately thereafter, the teams were given instructions on the Scavenger Hunt, scarfed down a lunch, and took off to discover the county. The Scavenger Hunt traditionally brings out the most competitive part of everybody, and this year was no exception.

The scavenger hunt ended with a riddle that took everybody to Priest Field Pastoral Center -- well, almost everybody. Not every team was able to solve the riddle. The bottom line is that a good time was had by all, and participants began their journey of learning all about Jefferson County.

Leadership Jefferson Sponsorships

One of the greatest signs of strength of Leadership Jefferson is that so many alumni are big financial supporters of the program. Already this year, the Jefferson County Agricultural Task Force -- through the support of LJ I alums Kellie Boles and Jane Tabb -- has agreed to sponsor the Agriculture Module to be held in October -- for the third time. What's more, Kellie and Jane will run the Ag Module, which is always fascinating to one and all alike.

Also, LJ I alum Noah Mehrkam of Arcland Group is going to sponsor the Land Use/Environment Module to be held in April. This will be the third time Noah has agreed to sponsor this module. Hopefully, we'll get to visit the new green building that he's working on with American Public University Systems. This building will be the APUS Academic Center, which will be located in the Charles Town/Ranson Commerce Corridor.

Thanks to Kellie, Jane, and Noah for their generosity and hard work on behalf of Jefferson County.

LJ Schedule for 2009-10

Leadership Jefferson consists of ten different modules, one per month. The cadre of Leadership Jefferson will plan five of the modules. The participants will be divided into teams of 5 or 6, who will plan the remaining five modules. Teams will bid on which modules they want to take on. Here's the schedule:

•Organized by LJ
–Opening Retreat Sep 17-18
–Agriculture Oct 14
–Economic Development Nov 11
–Social Issues Jan 13 (Joint with Leadership Berkeley)
–State Government Feb 21-23


•Organized by Participants
–Local Government Dec 9
–Education Mar 10
–Land Use/Environment Apr 14
–Tourism and Recreation May 12
–History and Culture Jun 9

Russ Sobel to Speak to LJ Again

Leadership Jefferson is pleased to announce that Russ Sobel, an economics professor at West Virginia University and one of the most outspoken seekers of reform of West Virginia's economic systems, will be speaking at the Economic Development module of Leadership Jefferson to be held on Wednesday, November 11, 2009. All past classes of Leadership Jefferson are invited to attend, as are local policymakers and sponsors. Dr. Sobel will talk about his new book, The Rule of Law: Perspectives on Legal and Judicial Reform in West Virginia. Local accountant and economic development promoter Eric Lewis and local mortgage broker and creative class promoter Peter Corum have generously agreed to provide copies of the new book to members of this year's class. Many thanks to Eric and Peter, who also provided copies of Dr. Sobel's book Unleashing Capitalism: Why Prosperity Stops at the West Virginia Border and How to Fix It to the second class of Leadership Jefferson.

Leadership Jefferson IV Class Accepted

On August 3, 2009, Leadership Jefferson sent invitations to the applicants who will make up the fourth class of Leadership Jefferson. Based upon their applications and their reputations, this will be another outstanding bunch of leaders in Jefferson County. Several new organizations have supported their own leaders to be class members, including Jefferson County government. The list of names will be forthcoming shortly. The class begins on September 17 and 18 with an Opening Retreat.

LJ Trip to CATF Play

Alumni of LJ and spouses will be attending the Contemporary American Theater Festival show "Yankee Tavern" at 8:00 p.m. on July 30. Arrangements for a pre-show dinner are being worked out. Check out CATF's website: www.catf.org.

Recruiting for LJ Class of 2009-10

Leadership Jefferson, a program of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, will begin with an Opening Retreat on September 17 and 18, 2009. Leadership Jefferson will then meet on the second Wednesday of every month thereafter until June 2010, with the exception of February, when the group will travel to Charleston, West Virginia, on February 21 through 23rd, 2010.

Applications are being accepted for the next couple of weeks. You can get the application from the Chamber's website: http://www.jeffersoncountywvchamber.org/leadership/index.html