Law and Justice Education Day

Our Leadership class had our Law and Justice Day. We heard froma variety of speakers working in the field of Law and Justice. Class member Tina Stryker blew us away with her acting skills during the mock trial.

Some quotes from the class about Law and Justice Day- " I work with many of these agencies and never knew they did so much or fully understood their roles in our community."

"I had no idea what Denny was all about and I am so impressed. I believe all kids that are middle school age should tour this facility."

"Drug Court was very interesting. Great to hear from former addict and see the success this program is having."

26 members of the Leadership Class attend the Retreat

The Leadership Class of 2010 spent two days getting to know each other and learning more about their own leadership styles. The Leadership Board of Directors, Alumni, and Sponsors welcomed the class at a beautiful dinner at Charles on the Cove in Mukilteo.

New Leadership Class Begins September 2009

Margot Helphand, Sarri Gilman, and Carl Zapora welcomed the new leadership class at a 2-day leadership retreat at the Hampton Inn in Lynnwood. Margot led the class through 2-day of exercises focused on learning more about individual leadership styles. Problem solving, communication, and relationship building were taken to a new level as we watched the class breathe life and meaning into the work we call "leadership".

Welcome to our Young Leadership Program

August 2009, Leadership Snohomish County kicked off a brand new program for young leaders to recognize their talent and skills and identify meaningful ways they can contribute to our community. This new program is piloting with 5 exceptional young leaders from The Boeing Company, REACH program. The five people in this pilot class year are; Neel Sheth, Christiana Chen, Quy Le, Zeina Salah, and Mandy Roach. The Leading Change participants meet once each month- August through December to discuss their community projects and focus on a specific aspect of leadership development. They are engaged in doing IT and Business projects for the following organizations; Little Red Schoolhouse, Open Door Theater, NAACP of Snohomish County, the Red Cross, and Senior Services of Snohomish County. They will be contributing 80 volunteer hours to each project.

Building Beds & Leaders

Through all of the paint, sweat and tears, it's so hard to believe that the 2008-2009 Leadership Snohomish County experience has come to an end. What a rewarding time it's been, meeting such exceptional people and learning about extraordinarily powerful topics. Not to mention the opportunities to participate in meaningful impact projects such as renovating rooms at Everett's Interfaith Family Shelter (photo above).

I leave this program wiser, more capable and with a wealth of new knowledge, new friends and new respect for all members of our community. Thank you to Sarri and thank you to Leadership Snohomish County.

Time of Reflection...

Wow, it is hard to believe that my class has already graduated! This has been a whirlwind year (well, rather 8 months!). I have really enjoyed my LSC experience. I had the opportunity to meet and learn from fabulous people. This year has been full of challenges for everyone across the country with the economy, companies laying off employees in record numbers and foreclosure rates at all time highs. Even with all the negative forces around us, our Leadership Education days stayed upbeat and positive. They were the bright part of my month because I knew that I would see some familiar people who would help me find the good points to focus on.
The people who plan the education days put their heart and soul into them and it shows. They are fabulous. Each day seemed to be better than the previous one. The speakers were very engaging and kept out interest.

So what have I learned from this year? A LOT! When I began the program last September, I was fairly new to the area so really had no idea what to expect or even what types of services were available in this area. Participating in LSC has given me an awareness that would have taken me years to get on my own. I now feel like I am part of this great community and am anxious to get and stay involved. The needs are great and abundant so there is plenty of opportunity to get involved.

I know every class feels like they are the BEST class ever and ours was no different! I truly believe I was in the best class for me. The people I met will forever be in my heart because of the great way they made me feel each and every month. It was amazing to see a group of strangers become so close in such a short amount of time. We may all come from different backgrounds, different lifestyles, different careers, yet we all got along and had fun in this common arena.

In closing, I have to say a little about Sarri. She was awesome. She saw something in me that prompted her to choose me from a stack of applicants and for that I am eternally grateful. This has been a wonderful experience for me. Sarri has inspired me to be a better me ALWAYS. She may have a small voice but that is only because her heart is so big it takes up all the room. Thank you Leadership Snohomish County for making me a better me. I am off to make the changes I have always wanted to see in the world and the credit will go to you for believing in me when I did not always believe in myself.

Health and Human Services Day

This was a very emotion-packed day for me on so many levels. I did not expect the day to be so emotionally draining yet enlightening. One thing I know for sure is that there is a great need for funds in so many areas. I truly feel blessed to be in a position to help others. The tour of the VOA Food Bank was enlightening. It amazes me everytime I meet the people who work and volunteer their time in these locations. It is very hard to go to work and have a bad attitude after seeing them in action. What do I have to complain about? I have a nice home, food in my pantry and clothes to wear. I also have a job ( for the time being).

I was amazed when I saw the magnificent cancer center. What a jewel to have right here in Everett. The team that developed that wonderful facility had such attention to detail. What a pleasant place to go during one of the most difficult times in a person's life. I felt at peace the moment we stepped into the facility. It is clear to see that a lot of healing takes place there.

The Domestic Violence video made it hard to hold back the tears. What a powerful message we heard from that video " You're Not Better Than Me."

I look forward to these education days each and every month because they just keep getting better and better. I have learned so much from the people who are in the program with me and also from the presentations that I have seen. I cannot wat to see what happens next month.

Education Day: Goverment and Public Policy in Snohomish County

As I reflect back on the last Education Day, "Government and Public Policy" I wanted to express my appreciation to the Leadership Snohomish County Education Day chairs for both providing informative and interesting speakers. I have worked for the City of Everett for many years and appreciated learning the "bigger picture" in regards to Snohomish County government. I realized how little I knew about many of the County's functions and I was amazed with the information shared by Tracie Stevens regarding the Tulalip Tribes. As was the case after the first Education Day, I walked away with a much better understanding of our County and the many types of government operations.

Homeless Shelter Room Renovation Project Update

Happy New Year! On behalf of the THSRRP, ("Team Homeless Shelter Room Renovation Project"), I wanted to update you on our project. As a reminder our project is to renovate some, the number is currently undetermined at this time and dependent on donations, of the rooms used by families at the Interfaith Family Shelter in Everett. The shelter provides 90-120 days of emergency shelter for families. It survives on an extremely limited budget. Homelessness continues to increase, with the largest population being that of single women and two-parent families with children. When families are homeless it threatens the overall health of our community. In Snohomish County the lack of affordable housing is one of many reasons families become homeless. At the Interfaith Family Shelter they strive to go beyond providing a place to stay. They strive to break the cycle of homelessness, and rebuild lives. Families participate in life skills classes as well as children's educational, developmental and recreational programs.

Our team has spent time with the Interfaith Shelter staff identifying and prioritizing their needs as well as time as a team brainstorming and planning. We have learned that their greatest need is for beds and mattresses. The more beds we can fit in to a room, comfortably, the better! We have the potential to expand the number of families the shelter serves if we can maximize the number of beds in each room. That would be so exciting to actually contribute to increasing the number of homeless families served in Snohomish County. We hope to add some additional improvements to the project scope such as sink/vanities, carpeting and paint, depending on our fundraising and product donation efforts. We have developed a draft project scope we hope to finalize the first week of January. Our fundraising and product donation efforts will kick off in early January.

How can you help? You'll be hearing from us soon as we launch our fundraising and volunteer recruitment efforts. We want your ideas, names of contacts that could be helpful, donations, connections you have with organizations who may be interested in assisting us, etc. This is a project that many can participate in and make a direct difference on homeless families in Snohomish County.

For more information about our project or the Interfaith Family Shelter you can contact anyone from our project team. Our team members are: Stacy Vance, Keith Kubie, Heather Coleman, Robert Waddle and myself.

Lori Cummings