Local Government Module

Team "Crunchtime" came through in the clutch with a very well-done module on Local Government yesterday. Many thanks to the members Hans Fogel, Tim Boyde, Leslie Cooper, Nicole Saunders-Meske, and Dale Nisbet, who put it all together. Many, many thanks to all the government officials who took the time out of their busy schedules to impart their views on their departments, on impact fees, and on other subjects. An additional thanks to David Hartley, Terry Marcus, and Mark Dyck for their positions on impact fees. Special thanks to Commissioners Dale Manual, Lyn Widmeyer, and Jim Surkamp, and to Mayors Smith and Hamill, and Circuit Clerk Laura Rattenni for sharing their thoughts. An extra thanks to Circuit Clerk Laura Rattenni, the City of Charles Town via City Clerk Joe Cosentini, and Noah Mehrkam, who sponsored this module. Who would have thought impact fees and wastewater could be so interesting?

Excellent Agriculture Module

Yet another great Agriculture Module with Leadership Jefferson. Many great thanks go to Jane Tabb, who put on another great show. Her "Ag 101" presentation was spot on; the tour of the orchards at the WVU Tree Fruit Research Station was interesting; the tour of the Lyle C. Tabb & Sons Farm was both fascinating and inspiring (ingenuity in action); lunch was wonderful; Craig Yohn's talk was informative; the Hough's dairy operation was gorgeous and the work they do is a little intimidating (the view probably wouldn't be that cool at 2:30 am when milking cows for the first time in the day); and the horses at Taylor Mountain Farm were pretty cool. Plus the day was perfect -- warm but not hot; sunny with a few clouds just to add a little interesting backdrop to the sky. It was quite the opposite of last year, when it was rainy and cold. Everyone who was there today greatly appreciates all the hard work Jane Tabb put into the program, not just cooking a delightful meal (Southwestern meatloaf was great), but planning, coordinating, and executing the whole day so that we got to see everything from the milking of the cows to the crushing of the stumps with about the coolest man-toy in the County. It's hard for there to be a better way to start learning the ins and outs of life in Jefferson County than having Jane and Cam Tabb talk about the source of life.

Opening Retreat Winning Poem

During the Opening Retreat earlier this month, five teams participated in a Scavenger Hunt. One of the tasks was to draft a poem about the Jefferson County Courthouse. The poem is impressive when read by someone with a radio voice:

The first court house was built in 1803

It was really something, a marvel to see.

The first, of a sort, for labor and coal

For a town in Jefferson, it's really the soul.

First used for bondage, then for salvation

After John Brown took a stand for the Nation.

His was not the last treason trial it would see

Two in the end that made history

The Court house will change soon, as the area grows

And how will that change us? Only history knows.

Revised Class V Dates

Here are the revised dates for the 2010-11 class of Leadership Jefferson:

September 8-9 Opening Retreat

October 13 Agriculture

November 10 Local Government

December 8 Economic Development

January 11 Poverty in the Panhandle

February 20-22 State Government trip to Charleston

March 9 History and Culture

April 13 Education

May 11 Tourism and Recreation

June 8 Closing Retreat

There is a potential that the Closing Retreat might shift a week later, so be flexible.

New LJ Participants

Here are the 26 participants in this year's Leadership Jefferson class:
Chris Atkins
Lisa Bowers
Teresa Warnick
Ashley Flanigan
Robert Sell
Joan Timmerman
Martha Mumaw
Paul Taylor
Tim Boyde
Gary Rawlings
Todd Fagan
Todd McKinney
Jeremy Williams
Dee Mara
Lane Donnelly
Nicole Saunders-Meske
Melissa Mallamas
David White
Hans Fogel
Amy McCormick
Leslie Cooper
Debra Mendes
Josh Householder
Jackie Geigel
Amber Kraft
Dale Nisbet

Closing Opening Retreat

The fifth class of Leadership Jefferson is getting ready to wrap up its Opening Retreat. Many thanks to the folks at FLOC, For Love Of Children, which has its Outdoor Education Center located in the extreme southern tip of Jefferson County. Todd McKinney, Rob Stull and crew were very hospitable -- but it's hard not to be when the setting is as beautiful as FLOC. LJ spent yesterday afternoon and night and this morning staying in the Lodge, exploring the high ropes course, and pondering leadership. The website for the organization where the class stayed is www.flocoutdoors.org. The crew of 26 new LJ participants ate well from various restaurants in the county, including Hannah's Train Depot BBQ in Harpers Ferry, Mediterranean Cafe in Charles Town, and Brother's Pizza in Charles Town. They went rafting with the fine folks at River and Trail Outfitters. It's fair to say that fun was had by all.

American Public University System to become Sponsor

Leadership Jefferson is thrilled to announce that American Public University System is a program sponsor for this year's program. Program sponsorship constitutes a significant financial contribution to allow the program to maintain its high level of quality. More importantly, program sponsorship means a vote of confidence in the program and in Jefferson County. Over the last two years, APUS has sent high quality representatives through the program, who have obviously reported back to their institution that Leadership Jefferson is worth the investment of time and money.

APUS is a respected higher learning organization known for its distinctive strengths in providing superior and relevant distance learning programs to its learners. There are over 70,000 learners in all 50 states and over 100 countries. And it's located in downtown Charles Town, where, in addition to offices in fourteen other buildings, APUS is building a brand new addition, an academic center on North George Street.

LJ is very appreciative of APUS' support and sponsorship.

Opening Retreat

The clock is ticking, and the Opening Retreat for the fifth Leadership Jefferson starts in just over a week. I've been consulting with experienced scavenger hunt veterans and have improved this year's scavenger hunt to be even more fun and more competitive than years past. I'm confident that participation in the scavenger hunt will meet the educational objectives of familiarizing students with areas of the County most are not familiar with, building a team, planning, and fostering leadership skills, such as influencing peers to follow your vision.

Alumni Mixer November 10

An alumni mixer is scheduled for the evening of November 10th. Meet the 25 new LJ participants, reconnect with your fellow classmates, or form new relationships with other LJ alumni. Details to follow.

New Participants

25 of Jefferson County's current and future leaders were informed today that they will be members of the fifth Leadership Jefferson class. Beginning with an Opening Retreat in September, the group will meet monthly through June 2011 to learn about our community. There are folks from small businesses, large businesses, local government, federal government, non-profits, banking, law, education, etc. It ought to be a good group.

Next Class Closing

The fifth class of Leadership Jefferson will be finalized soon. If you're going to apply, now is the time. No more applications will be accepted after Friday, August 13th. Go to the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce website for an application, fill it out, and get it to Heather Morgan at the Chamber office. The class is shaping up to be quite good.

New Graduates Listed

The twenty-six newest graduates of the Leadership Jefferson program are now listed on this blog, in the column to the right. If you are looking for potential board members, political candidates, managers, partners, or other leaders here in Jefferson County, look no further than this list. They've each been through the ten-month long program that shows the ins and outs of living and working in Jefferson County, West Virginia.

We are still looking to round out the next group of future graduates for the fifth class of Leadership Jefferson. Applications must be returned to the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce office no later than August 15, 2010. The Opening Retreat will be held September 8 and 9.

Leadership Jefferson V Schedule

Here are the dates for the 2010-11 class of Leadership Jefferson:

September 8-9 Opening Retreat
October 13
November 10
December 8
January 11
February 20-22 State Government trip to Charleston
March 9
April 13
May 11
June 8-9 Closing Retreat

I doubt there will be many changes to this schedule; the most likely to change would be the Closing Retreat, which could shift by a couple of days.

Graduation

Tonight we graduated the 26 members of the fourth class of Leadership Jefferson. Their names will be added soon to the list of alumni here on this blog. Impressive bunch -- you're already reading about them in the newspapers, and you will do so for years to come. Thanks to the alumni who came; it's always enjoyable to be with you guys.

The Opening Retreat for LJ V is scheduled for September 8 and 9....

Great Press

Great article today in The Observer. Publisher Thomas Harding accompanied Leadership Jefferson during our Education module in April; the article are his thoughts on the program. I have to say that I agree with his conclusions....


http://www.wvobserver.com/2010/05/leadership-jefferson/

End of the Year

The fourth class of Leadership Jefferson is nearing the end of the journey on a positive note. Last week, the team responsible for the Tourism and Recreation Module took the class from the back of the house operations at Charles Town Races and Slots, to kart racing at Summit Point Automotive Research Center, to a fabulous Fresh Feast on the Farm lunch at Craftworks' beautiful farm, to an acting workshop at the Center for Creative Arts at Shepherd University with Ed Herendeen and Peggy McKowen at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, ending up at Bavarian Inn. Great day, and many thanks are due, especially to Bill Reichardt, who continues to be extremely generous in showing us Summit Point.

One more module --History and Culture-- in June, followed by the Graduation Banquet on June 10th. All alumni are invited to the Graduation Banquet.

Don't forget the June 25th Leadership Jefferson Alumni trip to CATF to see Eelwax Jesus, after which we'll have dinner and drinks at the Yellow Brick Bank.

We're also recruiting for next year's class, trying to find the best and brightest, the current and future leaders of Jefferson County. If interested, the application is at www.jeffersoncountywvchamber.org