President’s Message Sept. 2017

Georgie S. Menke, Class of 2009, President

Greetings LP!

The 2017-2018 Class Retreat and Skits were a HUGE success. Thank you to Felicia Donnelley and her team for pulling off another great retreat. We had the pleasure of meeting founding member Ted Frantzis ’78. Ted gave the class some great information on how LP was created. Charlie Allcott ’13 was the founding member of Leadership Pasco and shared his insight on being a class member for both organizations. Last but not least, Judge Jack St. Arnold ’91 gave the “what to expect when you are a class member” speech. Thank you Judge for not sending the class running. During our class skits, we had a special treat. Margaret Martin ’04 and Past President ’15 gave the Deborah Vincent award to our very own Nancy St. Arnold ’13, our Youth Leadership Program Chair. Congratulations Nancy, we appreciate all the hard work you and your committees have put into the youth program.

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The team of Andrea Henning ’15 and her staff from Collaborative Labs SPC and Dev Pathik ’11 of Sports Facility Advisory once again stole the show. This class engaged in several different exercises throughout the weekend helping them bond with their classmates and also focusing on leadership strengths individually and as a class. Keep an eye out for LP’s Leadership Institute, where you too can experience this wonderful program.

The 2017/2018 LP Board of Directors has a couple of newly appointed and familiar faces. Dr. Eric Carver, Class of ‘15 and Tammy Robiconti, Class of ‘16. The board took some time away from the boardroom to hit the golf course. A HUGE thank you to the Chi Chi Rodriquez Sports Complex for hosting us. This LP board has hit the ground running! Keep an eye out for all the new exciting things we have in store.

LP Board Golf Outing

Every year we encourage the class to take on a project to help folks in need. The Class of ‘17 took on two wonderful organizations. The first was the Pinellas Education Foundation’s Take Stock in Children program. The program is a life-changing initiative that identifies hard-working, low-income students that need support to graduate from high school and receive a post-secondary education.  While Take Stock in Children provides those necessary college tuition funds, it also provides mentors who inspire and guide; there are college success coaches and school-based ambassadors who monitor student progress and enhance student learning through enrichment activities. Donor contributions are matched dollar-for-dollar by the Florida Prepaid Foundation. That means that every contribution, no matter the size, will be doubled in value. If you would like more information on them, please visit their website. They are always looking for mentors and donations no matter the amount.  Congratulations to the class for raising almost $4,500! Way to go class and way to go Cyndee Haydon for leading the pack as Program Chair!

Second, was Creative Clay based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Creative Clay is an incredible non-profit organization with the vision of making the arts accessible to all. For 22 years, Creative Clay has been serving people with disabilities, veterans, and children through the arts. Creative Clay also provides arts outreach in the community to partners including CASA, Goodwill, Benedict Haven, and more. Support for Creative Clay comes from grants, individual donors, foundations, and art sales of work created by their artists. Opening this month is Creative Thrift, a repurpose art supply store to make art supplies accessible to artists in the community with a “pay what you can” model. Utilizing supplies donated by the community, Creative Thrift will provide an extra revenue stream as well as a place for on-the-job training opportunities. Creative Clay is in its ninth week in its new location at 1846 First Avenue South in St. Petersburg and has been raising money for the build out and moving costs. They have $45,000 left to raise! To make a donation, go to www.creativeclay.org. Congratulations on raising $7,425! You all are amazing!

That is all for now folks!

Georgie S. Menke
President
Class of ‘09