For 2023, Leadership Washington County’s events and activities are back

Written by Tara Bockstanz

Leadership Washington County has been in full swing this winter for the first time since the pandemic began. In January, the City of Hagerstown regional team planned an informative and interesting day for their classmates. The day began at Brooke’s House Coffee and Chocolate where they heard from Kevin Simmers, founder of Brooke’s House – LWC Class of 2010 – #23. The class also heard from representatives of Gatekeepers, Ladders to Leaders, and Bester Community of Hope. The class then traveled to Hagerstown City Hall for several interesting presentations from former Mayor Emily Keller, current Mayor Tekesha Martinez, Shelley McIntire, Council Member – LWC Class of 2017 – #30. Class members participated in a fas- cinating virtual reality simulation led by Ed Plummer, HPD, LWC Class of 2023 – #36.

Following the demonstration, Class #36 had the opportunity to learn about economic development in Hagerstown from the City of Hagerstown, Washington County Chamber of Commerce and The Greater Hagerstown Committee. Class #36 finished out its program day at Washington County Museum of Fine Arts with Mary Anne Burke, executive director, Washington County Arts Council, Leadership Hagerstown Class ‘92 – #5, Rodney Tissue, city engineer, Sarah Hall, executive director WCMFA, LWC Class of 2022 – #35. They then participated in a Walking Tour of the New Key Street Building followed by a Jonathan Hager House Presentation by Matthew Penrod, tour guide.

The day concluded with Tekesha Martinez, Council Member, sharing her remarkable poetry with LWC Class #36. It was a fully-packed, interesting and enlightening day.

On Jan. 25, Class #36 was able to travel for Washington County Day in Annapolis. The Class was able to participate in the day along with members from the Washington County Community Coalition. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from members of the Washington County State Delegation and influential leaders in Annapolis, including Adrienne Jones, Speaker of the MD House of Delegates, Senator Joanne Benson, Budget & Tax Committee and Brooke Lierman, Comptroller. Following these sessions in the Treasury Building, class members attended the Legislative Reception at the Calvert House.

LWC Graduate Members had an exclusive behind-the-scenes event on Feb. 9 at the Amazon facility located at 1115 Wesel Blvd. in Hagerstown. Graduates were able to tour the facilities and engage in a panel discussion with Amazon executives including Amazon site leader, Amazon operations manager, as well as executives focused on Economic Development, State and Local Public Policy, Community Engagement, and Workforce Development. Many connections were made between local organizations and Amazon. We hope that these associations will benefit Washington County in numerous ways.

In March, LWC Presents series was back, again for the first time since before the pandemic. Leadership Washington County also offered this unique opportunity to all graduates and current LWC class members. The topic of the series was the Future of Downtown with a focus on the Multi-Use Sports and Events Center. This topic was so popular for our Best Lunch Ever (November 2022) that LWC wanted to open the opportunity to a larger audience to attend the panel discussion. The panel included Greg Snook from CHIEF, Linda Ebersole from Downtown Baseball LLC and Dan Spedden from Visit Hagerstown. The panelists were able to give an inside look at how the stadium will positively impact Downtown Hagerstown’s economic development. The event was sponsored in-part by BCT and AmeriServ. We are looking forward to spring of 2024 when the first pitch will be thrown from home plate!

There are still a few days left to apply for LWC Class #37. Applications opened for the LWC Class of 2024 –#37 on Feb. 1 and will remain open until March 31. By mid-May, applicants will hear about their acceptance, and the new class will be announced in early July.

All graduates will have the opportunity to sign up as a new member or renew their membership on May 9 during Washington County Gives. Membership sign-up/renewal is discounted from $90 to $75 during Washington County Gives, and this is the link to bookmark: www.washingtoncountygives.org/organizations/leadership-washington-county.