Leadership Washington County hosts educational retreat

Fort Ritchie was the site for the first graduate member-only event.

Leadership Washington County hosts educational retreat

Written by TARA BOCKSTANZ

The Leadership Washington County Class of 2023 - #36 participated in their Opening Retreat at Rocky Gap Resort on Sept. 16 and 17. The retreat provides the opportunity for the unique group of individuals who live or work in Washington County to come together. The class is able to form connections and bonds that will benefit them throughout the course of the year as they learn about our county and how they can take pride, take part and take the lead in Washington County. The Opening Retreat was led by LWC Executive Director, Tara Sargent and Facilitator, Griff Hall, who has been a Senior Professional Instructor in leadership and strategy at the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business MBA program for 20+ years. During the retreat, the class participated in several team building, temperament types and conflict style exercises. The class will engage in nine educational program days that explore poverty and the Human Service agencies that support those in need; Education & Workforce Development opportunities; the five regions of our county; State Government; and Board Governance; The first program day for LWC Class 36 was on October 7.

The Class of 2023 - #36 attends their Opening Retreat at Rocky Gap Resort in Flintstone, Md.

For the 2022-2023 Leadership Washington County program year the Graduate Events will mirror the Class Program Days, utilizing the regional model. With this model, LWC graduates will visit all five regions of Washington County. The first graduate member-only event featured the Cascade/Smithsburg Region of Washington County and was held at Fort Ritchie. Graduate members learned about the economic re-development of the former U.S. military base from owner, John Krumpotich. Following the presentation, graduates had the opportunity to tour the property and see firsthand the development and opportunity available in this area of Washington County.

Our second Graduate event was a unique opportunity to participate in a global village experience at Shepherd Spring Retreat & Conference Center located in Sharpsburg, Md. Participants chose from a global village in Guatemala, Thailand or Kenya and walked through daily life challenges that are present in these cultures. Graduates worked in small teams and took on a family member role as they prepared their own lunch from one of these villages. During the process teams encountered challenges that they had to overcome in order to successfully prepare lunch for their team/family. After lunch the teams debriefed and discussed the challenges, communication and how they successfully overcame. The goal of the program was to enlighten graduates on poverty and food scarcity throughout the world by bringing in a new perspective of lifestyles in different cultures at home and abroad while promoting collaboration and communication.

Back for this program year is our Best Lunch Ever series. Graduates will have the opportunity to explore the changes coming to downtown Hagerstown. On Nov. 9, HagerstownWashington County Industrial Foundation (CHIEF) will sponsor a luncheon in the Schindel-Rohrer Ballroom catered by 28 South. This Best Lunch Ever will spotlight an economic development roundtable discussion centered on the Multi-Use Sports & Event Center (MUSEC) scheduled to break ground in October 2022. The luncheon will feature special guests Greg Snook of CHIEF, MUSEC Coordinator Linda Ebersole and Atlantic League Team owners Blackie Bowen and Jim Holzapfel. We are very excited for a full year of graduate programming with many educational opportunities for our graduate members.

Tara Bockstanz is the Director of Graduate Engagement at Leadership Washington County.