LRV Class of 2011 Graduation…Congratulations on a Great Year!

Congratulations to the Leadership Roanoke Valley Class of 2011. Last night marked the culmination of a memorable year for 33 exceptional individuals.

The Class of 2011 joined together one final time last night at Roanoke College’s Colket Center for their Graduation. Greeted by the music of local musician Ross Flora, they enjoyed networking with advisors, sponsors, spouses and each other prior to dinner and the formal program.

The program opened with a welcome from Advisor Melissa Lacombe of Roanoke College and Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce President, Joyce Waugh. Everyone then enjoyed a slideshow from the past year and a wonderful dinner prepared by Roanoke College.

Lead Advisor, Chad Sweeney of Roanoke County, reflected on the past year – from opening breakfast to the various programs – and then recognized retiring advisors Susan Short, Rosemary Winslow, Sara Leftwich, Kelly Sandridge Coleman, Zach Fletchall, Andrew Gentiluomo, Mike Shorten and Chris Walters.

Next, the Lead Advisors were asked to introduce his or her team and then each team shared their program’s highlights, significance and call to action. The brief program presentations were followed by the distribution of individual awards to each participant. Chad then recognized LRVs Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Advisor Will Farmer, of Cox Communications and LRVs Advisors of the Year Award recipients: Kelly Sandridge Coleman of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys and Melissa Lacombe of Roanoke College.

Congratulations again to our LRV graduates and our advisors who were honored last night. The true purpose of LRV: “to identify, educate, and develop a select group of citizens from the Roanoke region for positions of leadership in the community and build a resource base of community leadership on an ongoing basis.”

Class of 2011, we hope you will take your experiences over the last 10 months, find your passion and be the leaders you were born to be. See you in Leadership Forward!

Blog submitted by Kathleen Lordan and Kelly Sandridge Coleman

Community Involvement program: “You, Me and Community!”

As the morning of May 18th dawned, free from the deluge of rain for the first time in several days, LRV participants and advisors found themselves making their way downtown to the Virginia Transportation Museum for the last participant led program of the 2011 graduating class, the Community Involvement program. As instructed, attendees came dressed in their bright yellow t-shirts toting bags of toothbrushes and dental floss (aka dental kits) for the Roanoke Rescue Mission. The camaraderie and excitement for what the day would bring was palpable.

Upon arrival at the nearly 50 year old museum, attendees were treated to a variety of drink and breakfast foods thanks to Chick-Fil-A and the behind the “bar” service by Chad Scott, Citizens Bank. Folks had a few minutes to chat and catch up before David Reed, AEP, called the group together and shared the group’s key objective of the day – a clear call to action in our community . There are many non-profits and charitable organizations in the Valley that need assistance to operate and it is the hope of the Community Involvement team, through today’s program, that attendees would be inspired to become engaged and serve as advocates for one or more of these wonderful organizations.

Community Involvement Team

After the agenda for the day was reviewed and group introductions were made, the baton was passed to Betsy Parkins (Neathawk, Dubuque & Packett) to introduce the day’s “national” speaker, Tai Collins.

Betsy Parkins introducing Tai Collins.

While Tai is known to most of us as a former Miss Virginia, actress, screenwriter and producer for the hit show Baywatch, it is her commitment to community service, particularly her commitment to children, that brought her back to Roanoke from Los Angeles for today’s event. As founder for the non-profit foundation, A Chance for Children, Tai was a perfect choice for today’s opening speaker. Her inspirational story about how one women’s vision and drive has impacted the lives of thousands of children was a great diving board into a day focused on advocacy and involvement.

Tai describes her rewarding work with kids

Tai talked extensively of how she found her passion and purpose in life and why it led her to the streets of some of our nation’s toughest neighborhoods. She spoke of her involvement in the Special Olympics, her work over the course of 6 years in 7 different countries, and nearest to her heart, her dream to teach children how to swim. She reminded all in attendance of the words of the Dali Lama, ” the prime purpose in life is to help others”. She lives by this mantra everyday as she ventures into areas that most would not. She helped all of the participants and advisors in attendance recognize that everyone has a purpose.

Finally, Tai presented the group with three keys to successful advocacy. She started by telling the group that in order to make real change on any greater level, the focus must first be on community. Secondly, she stated that teamwork is vital. Tai is a huge proponent of pulling people together in smaller groups and believes that when this is done, much can be accomplished. Finally, she says that the human aspect cannot be forgotten when advocating for any one group. It’s personal stories that will get people to care. Hearing the story of a small crack baby, struggling to survive as his mother is sent to prison, will inspire people to serve and to give. Tai left us with a clear call to action…find our calling and make it happen.

After the inspirational story of Tai, the larger group was charged with assembling four different puzzles with pieces found in our name badge. This exercise was used to demonstrate that in order to accomplish something (aka a puzzle), we had to rely on others. After the task was completed, we found ourselves divided into four smaller groups . Each group was going to “discover something unexpected” by visiting one of four locations: Manna Ministries, Adult Care Center of Roanoke Valley, Hurt Park Community Garden and the Rescue Mission. The hope was to instill some excitement into each attendee and possibly ignite a passion for service that might not have been known.

Participants and advisors alike loaded onto two Roanoke County School buses for a quick trip to their assigned location. Once there, we were treated to a “confessional” as to why the particular programs were chosen. Tammy Newcomb, Roanoke County Public Schools shared why she is so passionate about Manna Ministires. Michelle Nikkel, Allstate, spoke of her commitment and involvement with the Rescue Mission. David Reed talked about his involvement with the Community Garden and Max Wiegard, Gentry Lock Rakes & Moore, spoke of why the Adult Care Center was selected. After this, groups performed a variety of tasks from stocking shelves at Manna, making lunch at the Mission, digging post holes at the Community Garden to aerobicizing at the Adult Day Care center.

Craig Griffith digging in at Hurt Park!

We interacted with staff, volunteers and in some cases, clients/guests of the individual locations organizations. Overall, attendees had an opportunity to explore some conventional and non-conventional solutions to issues that affect our community.

After performing our assigned community service activities, we rode the bus back to the Transportation Museum where a wonderful lunch of Carrabaas awaited our palates. We were also treated to a quick plug for the Museum from LRV favorite Bev Fitzpatrick. In normal style, the scheduled 5 minute segment turned into a 15 minute speech in which Bev challenged us to “find what you love and make that your vocation”.

After lunch, groups had an opportunity to “advocate” for the organization they visited in the morning events. First up was the team that visited Manna Ministries. Lauren McMillan, Virginia Amateur Sports, talked on behalf of her group. She outlined the projects they worked on during their 2 hour visit and spoke of the need this organization has for volunteers to sort clothes, stack shelves and help feed the nearly 1000 people served each month.

Next up was Michael Copty, StellarOne, and the group that visited the Adult Day Care Center in Salem. He spoke of the safe and secure environment afforded to adults, age 22 – 98, that participate in this great program.

Michael Copty, StellarOne

Michael reluctantly admitted that his Wii prowess is not to the level of some of the guests and pleaded with the LRV group to help with monetary donations. While the cost of one day’s care is $73 a day, most guests pay $58 which leaves a shortfall. As a result of this gap, the Adult Care Center is heavily reliant on private donations so that they can continue to offer this great service to the Valley.

Lia Kelinsky, Virginia Tech, spoke next about the Hurt Park Community Garden where they are “gardening today for a sustainable, affordable and healthy tomorrow”. She talked of digging post holes for a picket fence so that the garden plots would be protected and beautified a bit. She also introduced the idea that participants could help this initiative by weeding and watering the garden much like the WestEnd Center and Boys and Girls clubs do.

The group that went to the Rescue Mission was last. Hollie Blankemeyer, Greenvale School, led this team’s advocacy for assistance. She spoke of the great need for supplies and volunteer work.

Hollie Blankemeyer discusses needs at the Rescue Mission

She highlighted the compelling story of Jeffrey the kitchen manager at the mission and talked extensively about the various tasks her group accomplished today many of which had to do with the Mission’s preparations for their annual Auxilliary luncheon. As a result of this special lunch, Hollie took the time to highlight the startling difference in meals served at the Mission today for the larger group. She pointed out in detail the types of food that would be offered to volunteers versus the “guests” (aka the women, children, men in the program and transients). It was a humbling experience to hear that the guests would take a back seat to others and would forgo their usual hot lunch for a bagged lunch which was grab and go. With that being said, this organization is largely held together by 400+ volunteers. It doesn’t go unnoticed that without their commitment and service, Roanoke’s homeless would have no one to rely upon and nowhere to go. Hollie did a great job pointing out this need and compelling those of us in the audience to give the gift of time.

After advocacy came the boardroom experience. Matt Bonham, Liberty Medical Supplies, came forth and treated participants and advisors to a great panel discussion on Roanoke’s growing aggressive solicitation problem (aka panhandling). Sean Luther, President of Downtown Roanoke, Inc served as moderator of the panel which was composed of Captain GW Staples(Commander of the Uniform Division for the Roanoke City Police Department), Debbie Spangler (Owner, Horizon Bar & Grill), Brian Townsend (Assistant Roanoke City Manager) and Anders Sylvester-Johnson (Director of Programs, Roanoke Rescue Mission).

Captain GW Staples - Roanoke City Police Department, Debbie Spangler- Horizon Bar & Grill, Brian Townsend- Assistant Roanoke City Manager and Anders Sylvester-Johnson-Roanoke Rescue Mission

After a thoughtful discussion on the issue and the many different perspectives on this topic, participants were divided into their original LRV groups where they were charged with the task to come up with a strategy on dealing with this issue. While it is a delicate topic to discuss, groups came to a consensus that the solution lies in educating the public about panhandling. Statistically it accounts for only ¼ of 1% of the calls Roanoke City Police receive on a yearly basis but, it continues to be a problem that hounds Roanoke simply because people succumb to their guilt when they see a man or woman holding a sign asking for money on the side of the street. Acquiescing to this guilt doesn’t help anyone and as a group LRV participants and advisors noted that there needs to be public service announcements and a marketing campaign letting the public know that instead of giving a panhandler a $5 bill as they see them on the corner of the street, the panhandler and community could be better served if you were to give a donation to an organization that offers programs which will enable the individual to change his/her life.

After the panel and great discussion, Max Wiegard brought forth the final speaker of the day, his mentor and co-worker, G. Michael Pace from Gentry Lock Rakes & Moore.

Mike Pace of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore

Mr. Pace spoke of his passion, the Virginia Bar’s Rule of Law Project. He spoke of his desire to matter and feel fulfilled all the while leaving a lasting effect on others. His speech was truly inspirational as we again heard from someone making a difference on a local, state, national and now international level.

While the day was long, it was wonderful! Participants were treated to a variety of speakers, organizations and topics from which to learn and listen. The program served as a great springboard to getting engaged and discovering your passion! I heard many participants and advisors talking about going back to the site which they visited and volunteering to make a difference. The Community Involvement team did an awesome job. To refer back to an analogy that Tai Collins spoke of in the morning segment, the Community Involvement team hopefully “planted a seed” in the hearts of today’s participants and advisors. Now we all just have to wait a bit and “watch it grow into a flower”.

With the conclusion of this program, participants are finally able to say that they have “survived LRV 2011”. As a result, we look forward to the graduation ceremony at Roanoke College on Wednesday June 1st. The cocktail hour starts at 5:30 with group photos at 5:45. I hope to see everyone there as we celebrate the past year and the growth we have all witnessed as we become the next generation of leaders in the Roanoke Valley.

Blog submitted by Melissa Lacombe

Environmental program – “Powering Tomorrow”

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Distinguished Presenters:
Todd Burns – Appalachian Power
David Page – Q99
Patrick Wales – Virginia Uranium
Ken Newbold – James Madison University
Nino Ripepi – Virginia Tech
Ray Ganthner – Virginia Energy Independence Alliance
Maureen Matsen, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources for Virginia

Greetings from the Greenfield Education and Training Center in Botetourt County! The program began with trying to determine “what energy source am I?”

Did Susan guess that she was BioMass? Fun exercise!

The interactive activity was a great ice breaker and afforded participants to immediately start thinking about petroleum, coal, natural gas, geothermal, wind, hydropower, and biomass. All of the winners received a gift card to the Natural Food Co-op in Roanoke.

The theme for the day was to educate, inspire, and engage participants regarding emerging energy technologies including uranium mining, wind energy, and clean coal.

Todd Burns (an outstanding LRV alum) began the program with an overview of the sources of energy in the region. Did you know that 80% of the east coast is fueled by coal? Appalachian Power uses coal (66%), gas (22%), nuclear (6%), and hydro/wind (6%) to provide power in their various service regions (including Texas). Smith Mountain Lake serves as a “cheetah” in the power system because AEP can easily adapt that plan to quickly meet increased capacity.

Following the opening session, the group was divided into three emerging energy “sub-committees.” After brief presentations, each group was separated to provide “pro” and “con” input for later consideration and discussion.

Lia Kelinsky offering a convincing argument

Our group learned more about carbon sequestration and the process used to reduce carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. The presenters discussed various environmental issues (surface mining, groundwater disturbance, emissions, fly ash, and greenhouse gas/global warning). Have you ever thought about why in the world would anyone want to capture and store carbon? There seem to be a lot of reasons including have the future ability to generate additional capacity.

Lunch was absolutely delicious . . . lots of healthy food choices and something for everyone to enjoy (plus the views from the Center are breathtaking)!

The Honorable Gaskins, citizen hearing facilitator, was a smashing success! Following pro and con presentations on each energy source, participants were asked to indicate whether or not they supported alternative energy sources. Uranium mining received 71% approval, Cleaner Coal received 51.7% approval, and wind energy garnered 71.4% approval by the participants. Most of us will never forget the clean coal – apple pie alamode comparison provided by Councilor Max.

The Honorable Gaskins

The afternoon panel discussion provided a robust conversation about how individuals can get involved in making a difference and having a voice in the process. It is absolutely imperative to understand the power of policy and to push back on various propaganda.

Keynote presenter, Maureen Matsen, provided an excellent summary of the various conversations and provided a generic platform for where Virginia is in the process of developing and implementing various forms of energy. Her remarks focused specifically on electricity – they did not include any aspect of transportation.

Maureen Matsen, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources for Virginia

She discussed the need for understanding and long term thinking particularly in the area of investments in energy development and infrastructure. She believes that nuclear energy is a vital element in the future – it seems to be most affordable, reliable, and safe. The general public needs to have a better, more comprehensive understanding of various energy sources. Energy is complex and individuals need to be educated, find ways to educate others, conserve, and support balance of costs and various options.

During the morning session, participants were asked to distribute coins in investment portfolios. Following all of the presentations, participants were provided a new set of resources and to allocate funding in investment portfolios. It was interesting to note the change of attitudes, perceptions, and funding through this exercise.

I would say the information contained in the day’s program changed participant perspectives regarding various energy sources. The most significant change in the investment portfolios seemed to indicate a better understanding of uranium mining and contributions of nuclear energy.

Hats off to the Environmental Team! It was a great day filled with numerous opportunities to learn more about the complexities involved with Powering Tomorrow!

Blog submitted by Susan E. Short

Economic Development program: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken!” -Oscar Wilde

On March 16, 2011, the LRV participants and advisors embarked on a journey inspired by Oscar Wilde when he said:  “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”  (more about that later….) The day began at the O. Winston Link Museum with a nice continental breakfast with music provided by the Jefferson Center followed by a very informative discussion on current economics of the valley lead by Dr. Robert F. Stauffer, Professor Emeritus from Roanoke College.  Dr. Stauffer helped the group define economic development and further explained that the Roanoke Valley has a very stable and diversified economy that is supported by a very competitive average per-capita income that trails Northern VA by a mere $16,000 (who knew?)!  He also explained that people are migrating here due to the quality of life and the abundance of entertainment, arts and culture, shopping, educational, and other opportunities (just to name a few).  Dr. Stauffer explained further that three groups can influence the economic growth of the Roanoke Valley:  temporary visitors, people who can start a business, and retirees moving to the area due to the cost of living and quality of life as well as the availability of quality health care.  Dr. Stauffer closed out this section of the program with a brief discussion on the slow to moderate population growth of the area.

After a brief break, the group reconvened to a panel discussion moderated by Wayne Flippin with the SBDC that included:  Joanna Hudzik – co-owner, Haywood Jewelers, Rick Sells – COO, Solutions Matrix, Inc, Melissa Palmer – co-owner, chocolatepaper, and Tim Clontz – CEO, Blue Mountain Organics.   

The panel discussed why they moved their business to Roanoke and everyone indicated that family ties and the demographics of the area brought them here.  The panel also discussed how each of their businesses had actually grown over the past two years despite the economic downturn in the economy. 

After another refreshing break, the group was split into two smaller groups to head into the next section of the day.  My group made a short walk over the Williamson Road bridge and across the City Market into Center in the Square.  Once we arrived in the conference room several floors up, we were treated to a discussion with Jim Sears, President and GM of Center in the Square. 

Jim gave us a brief history of the organization and how it started as a result of the shift in the population out of downtown as the utilities were able to spread across the valley in the 1940s.  When this exodus of the people occurred, the quality of life in the city itself plummeted due to what Jim described as ‘non-desirable’ activities happening in the downtown area.  He further explained that in 1979, several civic leaders put their heads together and decided that something needed to be done to improve the city living and thus was born Center in the Square, a center for arts and culture in the valley.  The idea worked, as we all can see a thriving and ever-changing downtown area today.  Jim then explained the status of the Center in the Square renovations and how they would provide further amenities to continue bringing people downtown. 

After our chat with Jim Sears, my group headed out of Center in the Square back across the market, donned hard hats, and headed into the Market Building.  We were treated to a tour led by Randy Scott with MB Contractors (who is the Project Manager), and Sean Luther, President and CEO of Downtown Roanoke, Inc.  Sean explained that the project was running on time and should be complete mid-summer.

After a sunny walk back to the O. Winston Link Museum, the group was treated to tasty boxed lunches and a little down-time before heading into a session lead by Pete Eschelman, Director of Outdoor Branding with the Roanoke Regional Partnership.  Pete explained that the role of RRP is to attract people, ideas, and eventually investment into the valley.  More specifically, his job is to attract businesses who are interested in outdoor branding. 

After our last break, we headed into the conference room one last time to a discussion on Arts and Culture and its role in economic development.  This session started out with a presentation by Beth Pline with the Roanoke Symphony describing the many ways RSO quality entertainment and, in turn, money into the Roanoke Valley.  She also explained that the RSO is the only professional symphony west of Richmond.  The arts and culture discussion was continued by Scott Crawford with Member One FCU.  Scott, who was an educator before his time in financial services, described how art lives beyond the civilization that created it.  This discussion was wrapped up by Kim Parker with the O. Winston Link Museum and she described how the railroad helped to shape us as a city and a region. 

The Economic Development team concluded the day by alluding back to the quote that got us started, and what that means to Roanoke.  We, as future leaders, need to grasp the fact that we need to stop trying to be someone else.  We have an identity and many positive attributes and we need to build on these characteristics and construct our region and our brand with those.

Blog submitted by Josh Bradley

LRV Participants “Get Regionalism” at February’s Program

On February 16, 2011 LRV participants and advisors arrived at the Claude Moore Center to a hot breakfast provided by Our Lady of the Valley, a generous sponsor of the Regionalism team. The program, succinctly entitled “Got Regionalism” began promptly at 9:27 with a presentation from Landon Howard, the Executive Director of the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. He explained that the role of the CVB is to be the destination marketing organization for the region and its goal is to bring people to the Roanoke Valley. One of the first things he had the entire group do was to identify the geography each team considered to be “the region”. The Economic Development team seemed to have the answer that most approximated the official CVB’s which included Smith Mountain Lake to the east, and the NRV and Floyd to the south.

The Community Involvement team works to define their "region".

With regard to the topic of Regionalism, Mr. Howard pointed out that visitors to our area do not see city limits or county boarders, instead they see the beauty of our environment and particularly the Blue Ridge Mountains. The CVB’s funding is an example of regional cooperation and comes from a variety of sources including many area municipalities, state grants and private memberships. Mr. Howard introduced the notion of “Co-opetition” where the gravity of the entire region is used to pull in more visitors and then, the merits of each locality can compete for each tourist dollar. He emphasized that good deeds will beget trust and that trust is what is needed to establish a more regional approach to tourism.

Landon Howard from the Roanoke Valley CVB.

Mr. Howard believes our region is inextricably linked to the Blue Ridge Mountains and that it is the mission of the CVB to develop a brand identity for the Valley that recognizes that association. Mr. Howard enlisted the help of the LRV participants by asking them to take part in future CVB surveys and studies. He offered a prize to the enrollee drawn randomly from the stack of cards each LVRer filled out. Strangely, Deborah Lindsey won, hmmmmmm…………

Next up was Regional Feud. Team took turns competing in a Family Feud style game centered on questions drawn from Landon Howards talk.  Craig Griffith did a great job of hosting and keeping all the team focused on the prize at hand.  In the end the Lea Riddle and the Economic Development team pulled the victory out.  Was it Western Virginia or Virginia Western, that is the question?

Regional Feud provided friendly competition!

Bev Fitzpatrick with the Virginia Transportation Museum provided a look back at how regionalism has been shaped in the valley over the past twenty years.  The Regionalism team had a great surprise for everyone during lunch as Corey Campbell provided bluesy guitar jams and tasty vocals as participant enjoyed lunch provided by Carillion.

Lunch time entertainment was fabulous!

After lunch LRV’s favorite Social Entrepreneur Ed Walker hosted a panel discussion about regionalism that included Jay Foster of SoftSolutions, Cory Donovan of NewVa Corridor Technology Counsil, and Terri Workman of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.  Participants gained insight from each panelist on their perspective of regionalism and how technology is providing the major link between our different geographical areas to spur innovation.  There was also plenty of discussion about the new medical school and how the “problem based” curriculum was preparing a different type of student for the future.  There were many good questions from participants and great discussion that made this portion of the program the highlight of the day. 

The panel discussion was a great look at regionalism from various perspectives.

Chris Morrill, Roanoke City Manager, wrapped up the day by highlighting all the great regional assets we already have and made a bold prediction on how we move forward to accomplish more, “Rapid Incrementalism.”  Rather than trying to move the needle quickly, we can take small steps to change.   This region has already taken some large steps forward, now is the time for LRV’s leaders to continue this journey onward. 

Chris Morrill, Roanoke City Manager was the final speaker of the day and the highlight for many in the group.

Submitted by:  Will Farmer and Richard Wellford

What a “Day in the Life” of General Assembly!

The Leadership Roanoke Valley Class of 2011 participated in a pack-filled day in Richmond, VA, at the General Assembly on January 19, 2011. If we were feeling weary from boarding a bus at 6:00 a.m., we were in good company: countless legislators, aides, lobbyists, department heads and others were well at work, too.

Way too early for advisor Will Farmer!

Some smiling faces...

The General Assembly is a fascinating place with bustling activity and conversations happening in every corridor. A typical day at the Capitol includes meetings starting at 7:00 a.m., and happening every half-hour, until 5:00 p.m.

Our Public Panel

Upon arriving at the State Capitol, our group got to interact with an interesting panel comprised of Commissioner, VA Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services – Matt Lohr, Legislative Aide for Senator Wagner – Debbi Scott and Lobbyist – Ted McCormick. The panel was moderated by VP of Public Policy for the Roanoke Regional Chamber – Tori Williams. Here, the panel candidly expressed their opinions and official positions from topics ranging from the importance of education and information-sharing their take on where they each saw a bill heading, which was working its way through the legislative process.

Advisor Deb Flippo introduces the panel.

With the panelists having at least seven other meetings yet to attend that day, we were very appreciative they could give us some insight into how they conduct business in that political environment.

3,000 bills are under consideration at the General Assembly. We learned to get things accomplished, we need to be passionate about our cause, informed about the facts and knowledgeable about all sides of an issue to produce the best legislation possible. As Lobbyist Ted McCormick said with a wink, sometimes the best legislation may just be “to make the bill less worse than it started out.”

Time with Busy Elected Officials

The next part of our day included the chance to meet with one of our area representatives. And to prove just how busy these officials are, some of the meetings were either cut short, relegated to a legislative aide or didn’t happen at all. I was fortunate to be in the Community Involvement team meeting with Delegate Bill Cleaveland, where we were afforded a full half-hour of the Delegates’ time, sandwiched between what appeared to be a steady stream of other meetings.

Del. Cleaveland is an interesting man who fell into running for office kind of accidentally. Like many of us, he was somewhat distrustful of the people and the process happening “on the hill.” With some arm-twisting, sizing up his natural talent to work with people and process information – not to mention his legal knowhow – he ran for office and now knows nothing makes him happier than to see his hard won efforts create wonderful legislation.

The Community Involvement team easily engaged Del. Cleveland in topics such as the School bill, the Land Conservation Tax Credit bill and the potential repercussions of the Synthetic Marijuana bill as well as inquiring as to just what makes a legislator like him “tick.” His answer: having someone tell him “it can’t be done.”

Our time was well-spent and with first-hand knowledge of our Delegates passion for his legislation, I know the CI team will eagerly await the outcome of HB 1483, HB 1481 and HB 447.

This Old House

One of the things that struck me was the efficiency with which all meetings are conducted at the State Capitol. The LRV participants were split into two groups to observe the House of Delegates and the Senate. I visited the Senate, and from the word “All Rise,” it was like watching a performance with subtitles. If you weren’t up on your legislative lingo – Biennium, Dillon Rule or Germaneness, to name a few – you found yourself out-of-the-loop during the fast-paced action while sitting high above in the Gallery.

Participants and Advisors in the Senate Gallary.

The Senate Chambers are something to behold. They are elegant and ornate and those who are there to conduct the peoples’ business, are dressed to the nines. I don’t know about the others, but I felt as if I stepped into a place where my inside whisper and best behavior were firmly required. Still, sitting there hearing them conduct business, these very normal people – our elected officials – were munching on their salads and Wendy’s hamburgers and drinking from their colorful water bottles. They are people, too.

Following a prayer, the meeting opened with the Senate President genuinely welcoming guests who happened to be in the Chamber that day. Each guest was eloquently addressed and applauded by the Senate Floor. Our LRV group was introduced a little later in the meeting, once Senator Edwards realized we were actually “in da house.” Better late then never – it was nice to be recognized. The rest of the meeting included a flurry or oral and stamped Yays and Nays and then they adjourned.

I left the Senate Chamber feeling the Legislature is an unusual place with plenty of pomp and circumstance. It’s hard to be the new kid on the block in any work environment, let alone cutting your teeth in that big league. What an unusual day spent in our amazing Capitol. Kelly Coleman, LRV Advisor, said it well, “Coming to this place makes you not only proud to be a United States citizen, but a Virginian!” Absolutely. Submitted by: Kathleen Lordan

 

 

 

 

A beautiful Virginia day.

 

Executive Mansion Tour

After enjoying some much needed downtime, we reconvened for a tour of the Executive Mansion.  The Executive Mansion is the official residence of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  It has been occupied by the Governors and their families since 1813, making it the oldest of its kind in the United Sates.  Originally designed by New England builder and architect Alexander Parris, the mansion has seen numerous renovations and additions in the last 200 years.  The tour was absolutely fascinating and gave us a behind the scenes glimpse of those who called it home, both past and present.  Learning about this executive residence and the significant events it has witnessed makes you realize just how far the Commonwealth has come.  To think the great Thomas Jefferson lived in a Rental down by the river…

The Governor's Mansion

 Capital Tour

Following our tour of the Executive Mansion, the group made its way to the Capitol Lobby for our next tour.  The Virginia State Capitol houses the Virginia General Assembly, which is the oldest legislative body in the United States.  For those who visited the General Assembly last year, we were greeted by a familiar, winking face.  The tour began in the extension that was constructed in 2007.  This addition to the 216 year old working building completely modernized the facility while carefully continuing Thomas Jefferson’s vision.  This was done by constructing the majority of new space beneath the hill on the Capitol’s south lawn.  We made our way through the addition and began our accent into the original Capitol Building.  The staircases lead us into what is commonly referred to as the Hall of Presidents. It contains the busts of the eight former Presidents of the United States that were from the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Immediately adjacent to the Hall were the original rooms that housed both the Senate and the House of Delegates.  Each new room brought with it another snapshot of how our great Commonwealth came to be, and more times than not, another wink from our guide.  What an amazing end to our day in Richmond!  Submitted by:   Zack Fletchall

 

 

 

 

The tour takes us to the Hall of Presidents.

 

Our tour guide.

Leadership Roanoke Valley Class of 2011.

Raising Stars – Narrowing the gap through community involvement

Beautiful drive at 7am from Salem to the Higher Education Center in Roanoke.  Freezing cold weather (-7 degrees centigrade, or 20 degrees Fahrenheit), sunny blue skies. Heard the announcement of Times “Person of the Year 2010” on the radio, Mark Zuckerman – Facebook founder.  Thought this was appropriate with changes in LRV communication.  Lovely breakfast provided, bagels, cream cheese, muffins, juice and coffee.  Greeted by Jeff Phillips (thought he had been at the eggnog early – explanation later in program about his appearance!).

LRV's own Jeff Foxworthy!

First presenter, Chip Fitch representing LivingWell, described the company and their joint venture with LewisGale Medical Center.  First event of the day, “Are you Smarter than a LRV Advisor”, led by Jeff “Foxworthy” Phillips.  The Environmental Team had an outright win over the other teams and was awarded a trophy, donated by “All Star Impressions”.  The most surprising facts during this session were:

• 1:3 children are obese in the US
• there are 300 homeless children in the City of Roanoke
• Roanoke County Schools spend less per child than the City of Roanoke 
• children spend 70% of their time awake outside school (includes weekends and holidays). 

Tammy Newcomb, Roanoke County School participant, stated birth through age 3 years development crucial for development, IQ may be improved with better nutrition and mentoring. Then it was time for a quick “Blackberry” fix.

Panel discussion brings together youth advocates in our community.

A panel discussion followed, moderated by Kim Stanley from Cox Communications.  Panel members were, Annette Lewis (Total Action Against Poverty), Anita Price (City Council), Wade Whitehead (Teacher Crystal Spring Elementary School), and Adam Boitnott (NetVentures and Roanoke Parks & Rec.).  Some interesting facts:

• More than 1,000 children speak English as a second language, and represent 41 different countries. 
• Roanoke City is the largest urban school system outside Richmond in Virginia. 
• The poverty level of the families served is 17-18%. 
• Seven out of ten students get free lunches. 
• There are 3,000 students who are gifted, out of 12,000 enrolled in the City schools. 
• Many teachers use their own funds to buy supplies for the classroom. 

Question posed by panel, “What would it take for you to leave what you do now to be a teacher in Roanoke City?”  Human capital is where the dollars need to be invested.

Perception vs. reality discussed, need to make sure the positive outcomes are highlighted not only the negatives. Safety survey conducted recently found all students stated they felt safe in school. The impact of the school system is important to the economic development of the City of Roanoke and surrounding region.  Parental involvement necessary but can be a challenge because:

• Most are single parent homes
• Work one or two jobs
• Lack of self-success
• Discomfort accessing schools and talking to teachers. 

General consensus, teacher quality makes the difference, parents need to be involved but keep out of the teachers’ way.  “Get involved in any way you can.”

The Corporate Involvement session had representatives from the Boys and Girls Club, Junior Achievement, and the West End Center. Steve Smith and Laurie Gibbons from the Boys and Girls Club told the group they have 250 children enrolled in their after school program.  They said they have a Backpack program for kids who would otherwise go without food at the weekends, “Feeding America” supplies the food. The children receive help with their schoolwork, which is sometimes not available at home.  Other life experiences, such as going to a Virginia Tech game or to the theater are available through their programs.  The cost of the Boys & Girls Club is $15 per year!  They have retired teachers and others who volunteer their time (they need more!) to mentor these kids, golf lessons are available, and the “Smart Moves” program.  We discovered the 3^rd Grade is a crucial indicator of a childs future.   if a child has “dropped out” by this grade they are more likely to be involved with crime and other poor choices later in life. They require parents to be involved.  They hold parent nights to encourage parents to be more involved with the lives of their children and to be more aware of services available to them in the community.

Laura Elliott representing Junior Achievement presented a video about their programs.  The message was “Let their success be your inspiration”.  Their longest partnership has been with the Roanoke City Schools.  Their volunteers (they need more!) from the business community provide mentoring in the classroom and share work experiences about business and economics.

West End Center representatives explain youth services available.

Joy Parish and James Creekmore of the West End Center discussed the successes of the Center.  There are over 100 children enrolled, 80% of them are at or above their grade level for reading, 99.3% of the girls enrolled at the West End Center do not become pregnant before graduation from high school, 83% of all enrolled students graduate from high school.  The goal of the program is to provide education, social skills, nutrition fitness, and nutrition assistance.   There are over 100 tutors (they need more – especially with computer skills!) who volunteer their time.  Their “Peace Builder “program encourages “constructive” behaviors instead of “instinctual” to help them make wise choices in life.  The West End Center farmers market has been a huge success and has been recognized by Virginia’s First Lady, Maureen McDonnell. 

Jeff Phillips started the next session by telling a tale of mistaken pregnancy!  Samara Collins, Roanoke City Schools, presented information about the schools system nutrition programs.  The free breakfast program at the schools is a “missed opportunity” for students because a third as many take advantage of breakfast as eat lunch at school.  They have improved the menus, using more fruits and vegetables, whole wheat pizza crusts and turkey pepperoni and they have eliminated trans fats.  She said there is a Food Nutrition Food Bill going through Congress to improve school nutrition.  We learned what a Pluot is.  A hybrid of a plum and apricot!

Michael Clark, the Roanoke Parks and Recreation Department, discussed the 69 Roanoke City Parks (actually 68 plus Carvins Cove- the second largest municipal park in the country) .  There have been as many as 1,200 programs, this year they are down to 800 due to budget restraints.  80% of the programs are Youth and Parenting programs, designed to increase interaction between parents and their children.  They have after school programs serving over 120 children, the cost is $15 per week.  Michael told us to “Google – 40 Developmental Assets”, if a child has over 30 they should be a thriving child. (I checked – http://www.search-institute.org/developmental-assets-are-free).  They have many volunteer opportunities (sounds familiar?), to serve meals, mentor, guest speakers, coaching and fundraising.

The Cup Cake Toss contest followed this session. Representatives from all the groups demonstrated their cake tossing ability into a basket.  The cakes were labeled diabetes, obesity,low test scores etc.  Regena from the Economic Development team won with flying colors (cupcakes?).   Her prize was the award winning book “Waiting for Superman” edited by Karl Weber. 

Lunch was provided by Panera Bread.  It was a delicious spread of salads, sandwiches, chips, cookies and drinks.  Found out Advisor Nancy Duvall does not like to eat anything with a gooey inside!  Time for a quick “Blackberry “fix. 

The Mentorship Session followed with lively presentations from Janette Espelage and Jerel Rhodes representing Roanoke City Schools.  Janette discussed the 17.1% poverty rate in the city and the implications , hunger, health problems and lack of access to care (increased Emergency Room visits), low self-esteem, homelessness and high risk behaviors.  She shared her story of successfully mentoring a teenager, following a rocky start.  “I learned a lot of words, then I’d try to use them in sentences to be cool!”  She said mentoring can sometimes be a long term commitment.

Jerel Rhodes recited “The Bridge Builder” by Will Allen Dromgoole and quotes from “Kung Fu Panda” (have to watch again after this presentation!)  “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it”.  The group had to choose which one of three scenarios would be the most likely to benefit from mentoring and we were reminded to plant a seed in someone’s life.

Dr. Bishop of Roanoke City Schools

Dr. Rita Bishop, Superintendent of Roanoke Public City schools, was the last speaker of the day. “Be sincere, be brief, and be seated”.  She told us 67.8% of the students were eligible for free and reduced meals at school.   The Rescue Mission is full at the moment, she has received calls at school about snow days, for some snow days mean going without food.   “Turn Sunday morning intentions into Monday morning actions”.  “Under promise and over deliver”, she used the Chilean mining rescue as an example.  They were promised to have the miners out of the mine by December, they were out by October.  Some students have never seen anyone “go to work”, she shared a brochure (5-5-5) about mentoring opportunities in the schools (they need more!).

The program ended by 2:10pm, we were all provided with tote bags filled with more information about the programs presented throughout the day.  A great day, I enjoyed seeing old and new friends again.  The Education Team set the bar for the programs to come.  An update on the Virginia General Assembly trip January 19, 2010 - more information to come. Blackberry fix – yeah!

Submitted by Rosemary Winslow

The Art of Schmoozing

LRV participants and advisors headed to The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center early on the morning of November 17^th for “The Art of Schmoozing”.  During the introduction, Advisor Susan Short, Virginia Tech, introduced the networking concept and stressed how important it is for leaders to be great conversationalist both in professional and social settings.

A formal breakfast table greeted all as they arrived.

Advisor Susan Short introduces the program.

 

Advisor Nancy Duval, County of Roanoke, introduced the first activity of the day by challenging participants look introspectively at their own leadership skills in a “Visual Explorer” exercise.  Instructed to find two pictures, one that represents how you feel right now about your leadership skills and one that symbolizes how you would like to feel about your leadership abilities.  Many commented how much you find out about yourself when you realize why one image resonates, and another doesn’t.

David Reed, AEP and Chad Scott, First Citizens Bank look through the photos during the exercise.

Advisors Martha Chester, Hughes Associates Architects and Susan Short show off their selection.

 

Next on the day’s agenda was breakfast featuring an etiquette lesson from Phil Davis, the Assistant General Manager of The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.  Participants learned about the “lost art” and “how to make yourself not noticeable”.  Although it may not seem important which way to pass the bread basket around the table or how to request a condiment that is not currently available, Mr. Davis quickly pointed out that today a considerable amount of business activity is conducted outside of the office.  To be at ease in every situation is a valuable lesson to be learned.  It’s also well know that while technical skills account for 15% of job advancements, 85% is based on people skills (Research from Harvard University, The Carnegie Foundation, and The Stanford Research Institute).  So, next time someone asks you to pass the salt, remember the pepper too!

Participants learn proper table etiquette from Phil Davis of the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.

Breakfast was not only good but informative as well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Advisor Chad Sweeney, County of Roanoke, came forward after breakfast and a quick break to introduce the next speaker, Dr. Christine Stinson, Dean of Information & Learning Management and Chief Information Officer at Ferrum College.  Dr. Stinson spoke on a variety of social media outlets.  She touched upon email, Facebook, Twitter, texting, and Instant Messaging.  Throughout her presentation she stressed the importance of being adaptive to the needs of your constituencies.  She challenged each of us to “be savvy and aware” and to use social media to the fullest extent possible as a leader.  Used properly social media can:

• Add to your knowledge base
• Keep you up to date and in the loop
• Allow you to effectively monitor the thoughts and comments of those around you
• Increase and improve your communication skills
• Help to organize your thoughts

Dr. Stinsen of Ferrum College leads a session on social networking.

The interactive session allowed for great dialogue and Q&A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The final portion of the day featured a legislative panel that was introduced by Deborah Flippo, Draper Aden & Associates.  Participants gained insight into the lobbying process from Councilman Court Rosen, Roanoke City, Pete Larkin, Representative Bob Goodlatte’s District Director, and Representative Dave Nutter, House of Representatives 7^th district.  The panel, moderated by Joyce Waugh, President & CEO of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, focused on how LRV participants and advisors can become effective influencers.  Key points that were brought up by the panelists and moderator were:

• Personalize it!  Let legislators know how the problem or legislation effects you.
• Take the time.  If it’s important to you, act on it!  Don’t give up on the issue just because you don’t think you will be heard.  These folks represent you and want to hear from you.
• Things move quickly, especially in the State legislation.  Don’t sit on it, contact your legislators as soon as you become aware of the issues/concerns
• Average citizens are oftentimes the most productive in terms of “lobbying”
• Don’t just state the problems, bring solutions to the table
• Make sure your facts are accurate and your information is correct
• Supply materials in support of your points to share
• Make an effort to show both sides of the issue and what consequences you envision
• Numbers do count!
• Stay away from politically charged issues
• Follow-up

Joyce Waugh and Peter Larkin address the group.

Dave Nutter and Court Rosen represent the local and state perspective.

 

After it was said and done, “The Art of Schmoozing” allowed us all to take a look at ourselves as leaders.  We were able to reflect on where we are and where we would like to be.  We were also given some great lessons and more tools for the Leadership Toolbox we began assembling in October at the Corinthian Ballroom.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars:

December 15th
Higher Education Center
8am – 2:30pm

The Education Team will draw attention to the discrepancies between the City of Roanoke Public School system and others in our surrounding areas during their program:  Rising Stars – Narrowing the Gap Through Community Involvement.

From the Drawing Room to the Board Room – October 20, 2010

Welcomed to the beautiful Corinthian Ballroom by the friendly staff of Chanticleer Catering, the rainy morning of October 20th brought together the 2011 Class of LRV for Leadership Tool Box- “From the Drawing Board to the Board Room”.   During the introduction Advisor Whitney Higgins (Allstate Insurance Co.) presented the three Is of Leadership:

• Inspiration
• Initiative
• Implementation

Participants were asked to “think of yourselves as “centers of change” and to understand that there are different paths by which you can accomplish your goal.” 

Richard Wellford (Poe & Cronk Real Estate) then introduced the first speaker of the day, Ed Walker.    Ed, who describes himself as 75% entrepreneur and 25% developer, is the “founder” of CityWorks, which seeks to create collaboration in the following areas:

• Good Government
• Social entrepreneurship
• Education & Knowledge
• Arts & Culture

Ed Walker talks about CityWorks and the Roanoke on the Road project.

Through CityWorks Ed and his team of “change agents” created Roanoke on the Road, a traveling art exhibit from Roanoke to Manhattan.  The goals of Roanoke on the Road he described as:

1. to create leadership opportunities for leaders in their field
2. to create leadership opportunities for younger individuals
3. a way to use travel as a tool for relationship development within a group
4. and to present Roanoke, and the artist, to NYC

He challenged all of us to remember that Washington and NYC are both in our back door.  To be change agents for Roanoke and to take our community to the next level we as leaders need to remember that we are setting boundaries that really don’t exist.  He also reminded us ”no amount of talent overcomes a bad attitude.”  His recipe for success for a project? 

1. Set a time parameter and hold yourself accountable
2. Network is critical
3. Planning
4. Human capital/cooperation outweighs the budget/cost

As change agents ourselves he reminded LRV that “Roanoke isn’t going to get where we want to go through competition.  We need cooperation to leverage our strengths to a higher level.”

Next on the day’s agenda was a presentation by Pete Eshelman (Roanoke Regional Partnership), but instead of his usual topic of the great outdoors, Pete was instead introducing a Creative Connectors project to the group.  Creative Connectors, an initiative of Roanoke City Economic Development, asked local leaders to tackle the opportunities available to Roanoke in the following areas:  Talent, Technology, Tolerance, and Territorial Assets.  As a member of the Territorial Assets group Pete and his team decided to promote the initiative of “81 Reasons to Connect” and a way to make the area more desirable to young people through the establishment of the Roanoke Valley and the New River Valley as one “area”.  Why?  With the benefit of the increased population and the decrease in age of a broadened region, the area becomes more attractive to young people.  The question became how to accomplish the goal. 

Pete Eshelman overviews Creative Connectors and the opportunities they were challenged to tackle over the course of the one-year program.

After much deliberation it was decided that a promo video would accomplish the goal within the one-year time frame.  The vision was to create a video that would:

• highlight the area
• be used by companies as a recruitment tool
• attract young people to the area

As a result, what began in March of 2009 with a 3-day workshop hosted by the City of Roanoke, culminated on September 1st, 2010 with the release of the video. 

The group successfully raised $25,000 in support of the project.  This also included a $5,000 PR campaign that is slated to begin soon.

So why was the project successful?

• Good idea
• Roles and expectations were set from the beginning
• Businesses had a clear view of how the project would benefit them, so they supported it

Next on the Agenda?  Advisor Erik Williams (Virginia Western Community College) challenged participants, within their groups, to select a topic and create a program idea based on the topics listed on 2011 LRV applications as pressing issues facing the Roanoke Region.  The groups then presented:

1. The creation of a region wide recycling initiative to engage Generation Y (Economic Development Team)
2. Creation of an endowment to help fund college for disadvantaged youth (Community Involvement Team)
3. Attraction of Generation Y to the area through the creation of a week for young professionals where they would engage in business meetings and activities to promote the idea of a “big fish in a small pond” philosophy for personal and professional growth in the area. (Education Team)
4. Creation of a “Green Out” to entice people to get outside and discover the benefits of the outdoors through an event in Green Hill Park.  “No Child Left Indoors”  (Environmental Team)
5. Creation through the engagement of companies and economic development in the area of an internship program to attract young talent to the area. (Regionalism Team).

Ragena Jordan (Western Virginia Water Authority) & Sarav Bhatia (Meridium, Inc.) present for the Economic Development Team.

Tammy Newcomb (Roanoke County Public Schools) & Betsy Parkins (Neathawk Dubuque & Packett) present for the Community Involvement Team.

Josh Skevington (HCA Southwest Virginia) & Jeff Phillips (Break the Cycle, Inc.) present for the Education Team.

Lauren McMillan (Virginia Amateur Sports) & Bill Stone (BB&&T Commercial Services) present for the Environmental Team.

Lia Kelinsky (Virginia Tech Roanoke Center) & Craig Griffith (Trane) present on behalf of the Regionalism Team.

Throughout the morning sessions participants were introduced to the three “Is” of Leadership through case studies presented by both Ed Walker and Pete Eshelman.  The afternoon sessions, which were about to begin, would drive home the importance of having the resources to be able to implement and also the passion necessary to create real change throughout the Roanoke Region.

Bob Smythers (Virginia Tech, University Development) was the first speaker after lunch.  His topic, “The Asking Business” challenged the group to not be afraid to make the ask, but to also remember the following important points when asking:

• If you don’t ask, someone else will
• More and more organizations are relying on their leadership to bring funds to the table
• Never ask for money on the first “visit” unless they bring it up
• Kids make great fundraiser because they don’t have fear of rejection
• Remember to always listen; you don’t know what you should ask for if you don’t know who you are talking to
• Always remember to say thank you

Bob Smythers reminds us half the battle is just asking!

A great resource that Mr. Smyther’s recommended is Jerald Panas’s book Asking.  http://www.jeroldpanas.com/pages/book_asking.htm

The final speaker of the day was fundraising consultant John Harlow (American Consulting Trust for Philanthropy, Inc.).  Through personal experiences and life lessons Mr. Harlow presented how to be an effective board member.  From his presentation, key points to remember include:

• What the world needs is leaders who know who they are and have a passion to go get it.
• Are you a board member for the cause or for your resume?
• Don’t ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and then go do that.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
• If you believe in something, you can make it happen.

John Harlow, through movie clips and frank discussions about his life, demonstrated to the group the value you can bring to a Board of Directors by first determining what you are passionate about.

He defined the needs of a board as the three “Ts”.  Time, Talent and Treasure.

In the end, “From the Drawing Board to the Board Room” allowed us to look at two projects from idea to implementation, gave us our own case study of how to begin the idea to implementation process, and then separated out a key component of what will ensure success:  fundraising and commitment.

A big thank you to the October advisor planning group that put on this month program:  Richard Wellford (Poe & Cronk Real Estate) , Betsy Whitney (Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley), Erik Williams (Virginia Western Community College), and Whitney Higgins (Allstate Insurance Co.).

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 17th at the Hotel Roanoke.  From 7:30am – 11:30am you will be introduced to the “Art of Schmoozing.”

LRV Retreat Encourages Stepping Outside the Box

LRV advisors and participants made a sunrise drive to the W. E. Skelton 4H Education & Conference Center in Wirtz, VA on Thursday, September 23^rd for the annual Overnight Retreat. 

It was a jam-packed two days of networking, teambuilding activities, learning opportunities and food!  The Day 1 began with Jeff Smith of Titan HR (LRV Class of 2004) leading a discussion about effective leadership; Kathy Baske Young (LRV Class of 2000) then introduced a style analysis tool called DISC, to help participants learn more about their own as well as their teammates communication styles. 

 

Following a wardrobe change, we hit the woods for some outdoor adventures and low ropes challenges.  Teams focused on tasks relating to trust, communication, problem solving, and sometimes persistence, but in the end, all challenges circled back to being an effective leader.

    

Evening activities commenced with Jinglepalooza, challenging the participants’ singing and acting as they taught the crowd about some of the local not-for-profit organizations.  At dusk, we made our way to the campfire for the annual s’mores fest.

  

After a hearty breakfast catered by Schaal’s Catering, Day 2 kicked-off with Speed Networking…a spin-off of speed dating; we focused on introductions rather than relationships!  Groups then went on to save the world from Nuclear Waste and we danced around Stepping Stones.

  

Friday afternoon participants brainstormed hot topics for the Roanoke Region within the categories of: Community Involvement, Economic Development, Education, Environmental, and Regionalism as a way to “jump-start” the team program planning.

Up next for the 2011 Class of LRV:  From the Drawing Board to the Board Room, held on Wednesday, October 20^th at 8:30 AM at The Corinthian Ballroom at 109 Kirk Avenue Southwest.  Parking is available in any City Parking Garage.  Be sure to RSVP on the LRV Facebook page.  We look forward to seeing you!