“Feed the body food and drink, it will survive today.
Feed the soul art and music, it will live forever.” – Julie Andrews
Arts and Culture Program Day has always been one of the most anticipated days for Leadership Pinellas since the class participates in a day-long journey ending with music for the soul. This year was top notch. The amazing and hard working team, made up of Bob Childress ’11, Suzan Decker Ross ’12, Aimee Trachtenberg ’12, Todd Willsie ’12 and Darrin Johnson ’14, pulled out all the stops again.
Let me take you on a quick journey: it all started off with a delectable breakfast at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday sponsored by The Art Institute of Tampa. Here, the class heard from dynamic leader Steve Weinberger ’03 about all it takes to make this amazing festival happen, its impact on the community and the overall impact on the bottom line.
Next, everyone traveled to the Duncan McClellan Glass Museum in St. Petersburg where all were wowed by a live glass blowing demonstration. They also met the owner of the gallery, Duncan McClellan, as he talked about being a leader in the community and what that means to him. The pieces were all a sight to behold.
The class left the glass museum totally in awe as they journeyed to the very new James Museum and enjoyed a scrumptious lunch sponsored by Decker Ross Interiors. They heard from Jason Jensen ’10, of Wannamacher Jensen Architects, whose firm was one of three firms that collaborated on the construction of this artistic legacy in our local community. All were transported into the rich and diverse heritage of the American West definitely educational by excellent docents.
After such a fun filled day, the planning team added the cherry on top: William Dean Chocolates. What a treat! The class saw the world-famous chocolates and heard from very famous Bill Brown. These delicious chocolates were featured in various movies, including “The Hunger Games,” and it is right here in our backyard. The class’s tastebuds were delighted and tantalized courtesy our gracious sponsor, Solace Insurance.
This program day did not end there! After the high of the chocolates, the bus took everyone back to where it started, Clearwater Jazz Holiday, where class members used their exclusive Leadership Pinellas VIP passes to enjoy what was a truly fun-filled and exciting event.
Thanks to everyone who made this day so memorable!
Help is still needed to plan a few more program days for next year. You can help delight the class. To get involved, please email or call me at [email protected] or 813-957-8107.