July 2013

On June 19th, policymakers, emerging leaders and leaders from business, community groups and organizations from across Prince George’s County joined together to recognize the outstanding ac-complishments of the Class of 2013. During the evening, guests connected with friends and col-leagues and also made new connections with other

leaders from across the County and the Region.

Highlights of the evening included remarks by County Executive Rushern Baker who emphasized the importance and value of Leadership Prince George’s. Mr. Baker has been a staunch supporter of LPG, attending every Recognition Dinner since his election and ensuring that a member of the Office of County Executive participates as a mem-

ber of each class.

Other highlights of the evening included remarks by members of the Board of Directors , moving reflec-tions by members of Class XXVII, and the presenta-tion of the Chairman’s Award to Wanda Ramos. Ms. Ramos, a Class XXIII graduate and rising star at M-NCPPC, is an active member of the LPG Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the Membership and Re-cruitment Committee. The evening concluded with

Class XXVII taking the official Oath of Membership.

Thanks to our many LPG Program and Dinner Spon-sors, Program Facilitators and Speakers, which in-clude Prince George’s Community College, PEPCO, MedStar Health, WSSC, CareFirst, M&T Bank, and the Maryland National Park and Planning Commis-

sion (M-NCPPC).

Leadership Prince George’s Celebrates Class XXVII

LPG Class XXVII Graduates

Derin Abass-Teniola, M & T Bank; Wanda Arrington, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Deborrah M. Banks, Center for Minority Business Development (CMBD) at PGCC; Lavinia Baxter, Office of Coun-ty Executive Rushern L. Baker, III; Kira Calm Lewis, former communications manager; Tara Eggleston, M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation; Musa L. Eubanks, Office of Community Relations for Prince George’s County, MD; Melanie Hartwig-Davis, WSSC Commissioner; Tanya Hood, CareFirst; Roslyn Johnson, M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation; Nellvenia Johnson, Office of Derrick Leon Davis, Prince George’s County Council Member, District 6; Crystal Julia Maddox, formerly Prince George’s County Government; Jamal I. Miller, Commissioner City of District Heights; Lisa Miller Scott, Sellstate Dominion Realty; Dwayne B. Mingo, Office of Karen R. Toles, Prince George’s County Council Member District 7; Jerry Pasternak, Pepco; Anita Pesses, M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recrea-tion; I. Vanessa Purnell, MedStar Health; Brad Ryant, Brad Ryant Insurance, Inc. -Nationwide Insur-ance; Sharon R. Taylor, Office of the Sheriff of Prince George’s County; David Thompson, Prince George’s County Department of Social Services; and Kareemah A. Woodard, Washington Gas.

UPCOMING EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: July 16—Website & Social Media Train-

ing (By Invitation Only) September 4—Welcome Reception 11-13—Opening Retreat 29—LPG Community Picnic October 13—Boat Ride TBD—Cyber Security Forum November TBD-Meet & Greet December TBD-Holiday Mixer January TBD—Civic Engagement Forum February 11—Twilight Tuesday March 5—Recruitment Breakfast April 18—Twilight Tuesday TBD—Candidates Forum June 4-6—Closing Retreat 18—Graduation & Awards Dinner

Please refer to the LPG website for a complete list of events, committee meeting schedules, and to register for events. Join us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+

LPG Connection Express Developing and Enriching Leaders and

Helping them Stay Connected

Class XXVII Program Days 2

Leadership Development 3

LPG Social Media 4

LPG Board of Directors 4

Inside this issue:

Each program year, class participants mar-vel over how much Prince George’s County has to offer. The Class of XXVII was no exception. During the ten-month program year, participants visited venues throughout Prince George’s County. Following a three-day Retreat in September, Class XXVII began their program with a day-long ses-sion entitled Prince George’s County 101. During the morning, participants met with the County Executive and his entire Cabinet and with several members of the County Council. In addition, the class toured the

Judicial Complex and met with a Circuit Court Judge. The afternoon began with lunch and a briefing at the historic Oxon Hill Manor followed by an exhaustive tour of Prince George’s County. Those who were new to the County learned a lot. Those who were long-term residents, learned just how much they did not know about the County and all learned that Prince

George’s has many jewels.

Over the next eight months, class partici-pants met with policy makers and stake-

holders who play a critical role in key areas such as Economic Development, Educa-tion, Public Safety, State Government, Health, and Arts and Culture. During these sessions, class members gained insight into current issues facing the County and offered their recommendations for moving the County forward. During the eight months, the class also spent a considerable amount of time assessing their leadership styles and participating in leadership train-ing modules. They also developed and implemented a major Community Service project focused on Foster Children in Prince

George’s County.

The program year ended, as it began, with a three-day Retreat. Armed with greater knowledge about themselves, their fellow class members, the County and the Region, Class members finalized strategies for turn-ing challenges into opportunities, and fur-ther honed their leadership and networking skills to engage others and expand Com-munity Trusteeship. The year involved hard work and a lot of introspection. It was also a time for individuals who might never have

met to fellowship and have a lot of fun!

Frieda Campbell, Med Star Southern Mary-land Hospital Center and John Deadwyler, Workforce Development Center at Prince George’s Community College were just two of the speakers. Industry participants in-cluded the Healthcare Industry, as well as the Automotive, Telecommunications, Hos-pitality and Construction industries.

The following companies participated in the Career Fair/Exploration event on April 20: Arel Architects, Inc.; Chick-Fil-A; Laurel Regional Hospital / Dimensions Healthcare System; Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation; Nationwide Insur-ance - Brad Ryant Agency; Prince George’s

By Kareemah Woodard, Community Service Project Steering Committee Member

For their community Service project, LPG Class of 2013 organized a two-day resource-ful and engaging service project on Saturday April 13th and 20th called “Educate, Engage, Employ”, to share knowledge and resources for educational opportunities, work readiness, and personal and professional development with identified youth currently in the foster care program through the Prince George’s County Department of Social Services.

The event was a huge success, as employers held interviews, arranged follow-up interviews, took resumes and asked attendees to apply online.

Community College - Team Builders Acade-my; Prince George’s County Fire Cadet Program—Fire & EMS; Prince George’s County Assessment Office; Prince George’s County Public Schools; Washington Gas; & WSSC.

Participating students and LPG Class XXVII expressed appreciation to event sponsors including Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation; and Prince George’s County Department of Social Services, Der-rick Leon Davis, Prince George’s County Council Member, District 6; Karen Toles, Prince George’s County Council Member, District 7; and University of Maryland, Office of Community Engagement.

LPG Class XXVII Community Service Project: Youth Foster Care Services—Employment Seminars and Job Fair

PAGE 2 LPG CONNECTION EXPRESS VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

Class XXVII Leadership Development

Program Day Highlights

“If You Are Riding a Horse And It Dies, Get Off!”

Seems like a reasonable admonition would-n’t you say? Yet, if we really take a good look at our own situations, we may well dis-cover that often we ourselves are still in the saddle, furiously urging the dead beast for-ward while the vultures circle above us. Take a look!

Are you:

Maintaining an organizational structure (form) that no longer accommodates the function of the organization or unit for which you are responsible and ac-countable (form follows function)?

Are you providing the leadership, in-cluding information that promotes the

individual growth and development of those you lead?

Maintaining leadership practices that no longer provide the flexibility neces-sary for the “Just-in-time” (JIT) decision making required by individuals and teams, for which you are directly re-sponsible? For cross functional teams?

Effectively providing targeted initiatives and responses that energize, excite, and give meaning to the tasks that people are required to perform?

A serious in-depth analysis of these ques-tions may yield surprising and valuable infor-mation. Your response to what you find may well lead to an astonishing forward surge.

Let us hear from you; about your diamonds and your warts.

presented by Jennene Biggins off Biggins Consulting on November 28th and "How Smart Land Use, Zoning, and the County's 15 Metro Stations Can Grow the County's Economy" was presented by Derick Ber-lage, AICP, Chief of Countywide Planning, Prince George's County Government on

March 14th.

The next session will feature the topic of "Cyber-security" and will be held in October.

Stay tuned for details!

By Debbie Tyner, Roundtable Co-Chair

Are you interested in participating in engag-ing discussion sessions led by subject mat-ter experts with other professionals over lunch? If so, join us for a Leadership Devel-opment "Lunch and Learn" Roundtable session where information is shared and networking opportunities are plentiful. The 2012-2013 sessions were well attend-ed. "Networking with Social Media" was

LPG Networking

Leadership Development By Dr. William Welch, Sr., LPG Founder, and Leadership Curriculum Committee Member

Leadership Development ”Lunch and Learn”

Networking-- “The exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business” (Merriam-Webster) Over the past year, LPG has offered a num-ber of successful networking opportunities for members to connect with each other and with other leaders in Prince George’s County. Key networking events included: three Twi-light Tuesday “happy hour” events, one in collaboration with LPG’s Reach Back Men-

tors Program; two “Lunch and Learn” series featured sessions on social media and econom-ic development in Prince George’s County; the Welcome Reception for Class 27 and the Class Recruitment Breakfast. The LPG Annual Family Picnic held in Septem-ber and the Holiday Party held in December provided a time for fellowship and fun. For the LPG Holiday Party we collected “teddy bears” for children for the holidays as well as non-

perishable food for donation to local charities.

PAGE 3 LPG CONNECTION EXPRESS VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

LPG supports the Arts at Bowie State University,

Fine and Performing Arts Center, November 2012

LPG Nominations By Bunni Wheeler-Young, Nominations Chair

The purpose of the Nominating Committee is to facilitate the nomination process and execute the annual election of the Board of Directors.

The Nominating Committee, after reviewing the existing Bylaw’s nomination and election provisions, concluded qualifications criteria were needed to promote a sustainable organization, retain active participation of new and existing members and to encourage commitment to the vision and mission of our organization.

To this end the Committee established requirements based on demonstrated commitment and participation in LPG to be considered in "good standing" to qualify for leadership roles. The criteria are used by the Committee to nominate new Board members and committee members.

LPG Board of Directors 2012-2013

2012-2013 Board of Directors: Manuel Arrington, Lucy Austin, Natalie Beckwith, Kai Boggess de Bruin, Clarence Brewton (Secretary), Marva Jo Camp (Chair) , Dr. Marilyn Corder, Lanta Evans-Motte, Michael Fowler, Ronnie Gaithers, Thomas Graham (Immediate Past Chair), John Huggins, Raymond Lambert (Treasurer), Major Lewis, Darrin Palmer, Wanda Ramos, Paivi Spoon, Debbie Tyner, William A. Welch,

Sr., Bunni Wheeler-Young (Vice-President).

2012-2013 LPG Chairpersons: Community Outreach (Major Lewis); Curriculum (Marva Jo Camp); Governance (Ronnie Gaithers); ITCM (Manuel Arrington); Leadership Roundtable (Kai Boggess de Bru-in/Debbie Tyner); Membership/Recruitment (Wanda Ramos/William

Welch); Reach Back (Natalie Beckwith); Finance (Raymond Lambert).

Leadership Prince George’s at the Cross Roads By Marva Jo Camp, Board Chairman

As Leadership Prince George’s (LPG) celebrates its 27th year of service, the commitment to service remains strong and the organi-zation continues to expand its activities and initiatives to support, nurture and enhance servant leadership. A major component of serving the community is having a stable and sustainable organiza-

tion with the capacity to create positive change.

During the 2012-2013 program year, LPG turned inward to ensure that its organizational and governance structure, as well as its policy and financial framework supported the organization’s vision and long term goals. At the same time, the organization began an inten-sive evaluation of its current activities and initiatives to ensure that the organization remains relevant by being at the forefront of leader-ship development trends, and promoting “community connectivity”

and civic engagement.

As an organization with a volunteer Board of Directors and only one part-time staff person, the task has been extremely challenging. Thankfully, the Board and countless volunteers and supporters, rose to the challenge by using their considerable leadership skills, re-

sources and talents to propel the organization forward.

Now, as we conclude the 2012 - 2013 program year, LPG is on a more solid footing, and is primed to expand even further as a train-ing ground for leadership development and as an organization that produces, thought leaders and community servants who enrich the

quality of life in Prince George’s County and the Region.

Leadership Prince George’s P.O. Box 6407, Largo, MD 20774; (301) 322-0962 leadershipprincegeorges@gmail.com www.leadershipprincegeorges.org

LPG Connection Express is a publication of Leadership Prince George’s and is published quarterly.

Editor—Lanta Evans-Motte Co-Editor—Clarence Brewton Contributors—Anita Pesses, Manuel Arrington, Marva Jo Camp, Brenda Gilmore, Dr. William A. Welch Sr., Kareemah Woodard; Bunni Wheeler-Young, Clarence Brewton Photographer—Manuel Arrington

LPG Social Media How to Stay in Touch with LPG?

Our Blog - https://leadershipprincegeorges.wordpress.com/

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/117493156713346409201/

posts#117493156713346409201/posts

Facebook -

https://www.facebook.com/LeadershipPrinceGeorges

At LinkedIn at Leadership Prince George’s-Developing Leaders - http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Leadership-Prince-Georges-Developing-Leaders-4077351?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

Contact leadershipprincegeorges@gmail.com to volunteer, refer potential speakers or recommend resources/support.

Leadership Prince George’s Operations Governance Committee Tackles Bylaw Changes, by Clarence Brewton

Reviewing and making bylaw revisions are not exciting, but are a necessary duty of governance. For the past year, an ad hoc Governance Committee undertook a comprehensive review of the LPG Bylaws adopted in 2011 to ensure best practic-es and assure accountability and conformance with current laws.

Governance Committee members: Ronnie Gaithers (Chair), Clarence Brewton, Michael Fowler, Maureen McNeill Esq., Aretha Arrington, Esq., and Todd Turner, Esq. reviewed and recommended changes to the current bylaws, which were vet-ted by the Executive Committee, adopted by the LPG Board of Directors, and re-leased for membership vote at the June 19th Annual Meeting.

Key changes of note to the newly adopted bylaws are:

Defines “active” members as members who have paid dues by Oct 31 and are entitled to vote and participate in LPG matters;

Defines three categories of Board Members: Regular, Class, and Appointed;

Structural changes to include: Provisions for 1st and 2nd Vice President of the Board; New standing committees - Curriculum/Program, Bylaws , and Fund Development Committees; and Provisions for appointment of Co-Chairs;

Defines criteria for removal of board members to include noncompliance with the Code of Conduct and Statement of Individual Responsibility;

Provides for the board by resolution to determine the signature authority for checks and instruments relating to the Corporation’s assets;

Provides for adoption of a Code of Conduct, Statement of Individual Respon-sibility, Conflict of Interest and Financial Policies;

Defines role of Executive Committee; among other changes.

A copy of the newly revised bylaws can be obtained by contacting the LPG office.