Voyage to Long Beach Brings New Discoveries for Akron Team

Leadership Akron took a team of five leaders to the Community Leadership Association national conference last month in Long Beach, California. The conference’s theme—The Leadership Voyage—focused on leading in uncharted waters, a perfect metaphor for our current economic course. And for each of us on the Akron team, the theme hit home—three of us were first timers, and the other two were involved at conference in new ways. Here’s the team that gathered on the fantail of the Queen Mary, a historic ship that served the British royal family, for the conference’s opening reception:

·         Fran Doll ’89 joined the conference as the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Leader Award winner, having earned the honor through her leadership in founding Grandparents Against Sex Predators (GASP).

·         Susan Kosco, Leadership Akron’s program coordinator, attended conference as a great learning opportunity in her first year on the job.

·         Linda Lyell ’05, our part-time marketing/communications specialist, also joined conference as a recent addition to the Leadership Akron team.

·         Michael McGlinchy ’05 represented the Alumni Association as our president, having attended last year as vice president of LAAA.

·         Yours Truly, attending my fourth CLA conference, which has become a perennial mainstay for peer networking and learning.

For each member of our team, the next few days would bring new discoveries, personal and professional. It was an honor to join Fran for a special reception at the hotel and see her honored for her service to community. As a cancer survivor, her spirit of gratitude for every new day is an inspiration, and keeps her going even when the issues GASP addresses can be disturbing. In addition to savoring the rewards for her community leadership, Fran discovered new allies. These include California counterparts she met while she was in town, and a new kindred spirit, teammate Linda Lyell.

In addition to striking up a friendship with Fran, Linda also encountered a young lady she will not soon forget. On Saturday Linda attended an “in-community” workshop on Andy Street. Andy Street represents a neighborhood that, until recently, was controlled by gangsters and drug dealers who operated at will. That was until a cadre of citizens and youth teamed up to say “enough is enough” and have since re-claimed the neighborhood. Linda and Mike met some of these youth on their visit. Linda really connected with a young lady who, it turned out, aspires to be a journalist (Linda recently retired from the Beacon Journal). Linda recently sent her a digital camera to support her developing talent.

For Mike McGlinchy, this year’s conference brought the opportunity to share the story of our alumni, which stands out nationally for membership retention and involvement. In a joint workshop with Leadership Green Bay, he shared how our alumni association has become a “go to” resource for leaders to connect and collaborate. Susan Kosco gained exposure to the workings of other leadership groups, and appreciated the highly quotable John Maxwell’s keynote address. A sampling: “The difference between manipulating and motivating is valuing people.” “As the challenge elevates, the need for teamwork elevates.”

For me, conference cemented friendships with committee members and presenters with whom we’d been in contact leading up to the conference, as I had the privilege of leading this year’s workshops committee. It also brought a number of new entries for the New Idea Book, a blank notebook the staff gave me a couple years ago as safe storage for my light bulb moments.

Each member of our team gathered Friday night for some outdoor ethnic dining at George’s Greek Café, where the owner greeted us in a Greek Wedding style that infused our evening. Over great food, good conversations, and a lovely nightfall, our team built friendships as they shared new discoveries.

In an economic downturn, conference attendance is often the first thing slashed from a budget. But leadership is about investing in the long term even when times are tough. There are elements of our program that I can point out today that were directly influenced by ideas gained at CLA’s conference. And the affinity and commitment for our mission formed among those who have attended—Bill Lowery, Rita Madick, and Scott Read, to name a few from prior years—is priceless. For these reasons and more, we are already looking forward to bringing a great team to next April’s conference in Fort Worth. 

To comment on LeaderLog, please submit your comments using the form below. Don't forget to include your name and affiliation, or your comments may not be posted.