The Class of 2011 came together
for one final session in Richmond, Virginia on November 17-19, 2011.
The session began on Thursday with lunch at The Boathouse at Rockett's
Landing, which offered a beautiful view of the River City from
alongside the James River. After a brief welcome from Mark Shuford,
'09, Attorney/Partner with Kaufman and Canoles, class members heard
panelists Tom
Silvestri, President & Publisher of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, Bob
Crum, Executive Director of the Richmond Regional
Planning District Commission, and Kim Scheeler, President &
CEO of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, give a presentation on
RVA: A River City Regional Overview. The Class then heard from an array
of speakers on How Philanthropy Moves the Region Forward, moderated by Darcy Oman,
President & CEO of The Community Foundation (Richmond & Central
VA) before travelling to the American Civil War Center at Historic
Tredegar. Barry
Johnson, Senior Associate Dean for Research in the
School of Engineering & Applied Science at the University of
Virginia, Mark
Manasco, Special Projects Coordinator of the Virginia
Logistics Research Center, and Scott
Brown, Director of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and
Security for Fort Lee, provided insight into The Expansion of Fort Lee
& Tri-cities Transformation. The Class of 2011 was then given a
brief overview on the Impact of Historic Tourism on the Region by Jack Berry,
President & CEO of the Richmond Metropolitan Convention &
Visitors Bureau before being led on a tour of the museum by Christy
Coleman, President of the American Civil War Center at Historic
Tredegar. The evening ended with a docent-led tour of the Virginia
Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), special remarks by Alex Nyerges,
Director of the VMFA, dinner in the beautiful Claiborne-Robinson Room,
and a final presentation by Don
Harrison, Arts & Culture Editor of Style Weekly.
Friday was a full day, beginning
with an early breakfast presentation at The Jefferson Hotel on the
Current Political Currents by Dr.
Dan Palazzolo, Chair of the Political Science
Department at the University of Richmond. Class members then travelled
to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). There, they heard from Bob Skunda,
President & CEO of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, about
the ideas behind creating the Research Park, some current tenants of
the Research Park and how they are helping to shape healthcare in the
region. Joel
Newman, Assistant Director of Communications, and Tim Ernst,
Senior Organ Center Specialist, both with UNOS, then provided some
insight into how UNOS came about and how organ transplant works. After
a brief break and tour of the organ center, the class heard about
Regional Healthcare Assets from Chris
Bailey, '09, Senior Vice President with the Virginia
Hospital and Healthcare Association, Dr. John Ward, President of MCV
Physicians, and Capt.
(ret.) Cathy Wilson, Executive Director of Virginia's
Wounded Warrior Program. Following a brief lunch at the Maggie L.
Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies, the
Class heard from a panel of educators and administrators on K-12 in the
Richmond Region: Urban & Suburban Perspectives and were then led on
a student-guided tour of the school. The Class of 2011 then boarded the
bus for an eye-opening windshield tour of Richmond's East End, guided
by Reverend Lynne
Washington, Vicar at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, and Pastor Corey Widmer,
Associate Pastor of Third Presbyterian Church and Co-pastor of the East
End Fellowship. The tour ended with a stop at the Peter Paul
Development Center, where class members learned about the Center's
mission to build a community of learners by engaging and challenging
children, families, and seniors in Richmond's East End. The program day
ended with a visit to Historic St. John's Episcopal Church, where the
Class of 2011 witnessed the re-enactment of the Virginia Convention of
1775.
LEAD VIRGINIA board
members, alumni, and distinguished guests all came together at The
Jefferson Hotel on Friday night to celebrate the Class of 2011
Graduation and LEAD
VIRGINIA's First Annual Silent Auction. The festivities
were enjoyed by all and the Silent Auction was a huge success, raising
over $7,900 to broaden class participation through scholarship support
and for alumni programs! Thank you to all of our sponsors, silent
auction bidders, and silent auction winners and congratulations to the
Class of 2011!
On Saturday, November 19, class
members walked to Virginia Commonwealth University's Snead Hall School
of Business, where they heard a panel on Higher Education: Providing
the Spark for Innovation. Dr.
John Thomas, Director of the Weldon Cooper Center for
Public Service at the University of Virginia, and LEAD VIRGINIA
Curriculum Chair moderated the panel, which included: Mac McGinty,
'09, Vice President of Workforce Development for the Community College
Workforce Alliance;
Dr. Sandra Peart, Dean of the Jepson School of
Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond and LEAD VIRGINIA
Board Member; Bob
Lindgren, President of Randolph-Macon College; and Dr. Ken Kahn,
Director of VCU's da Vinci Center for Innovation. The program year
ended with the Capturing the Experience session, led by Dr. John Thomas.
This moving segment allowed the Class of 2011 to revisit some of the
highlights of their session year and share these memorable moments with
their fellow class members and the LEAD
VIRGINIA team.
Matt Isner and Leigh Armistead at the Virginia Museum of
Fine Arts
Dr. Ronald Carey, Chief of Staff, Richmond City Public
Schools and 2011 class member Cynthia Cecil
Lani Hay with St. John's Church re-enactors
LEAD VIRGINIA expresses a
special thank you to the Richmond Session Co-chairs: Edie Patterson,
'10, Executive Director for the Virginia Alliance of Boys & Girls
Clubs, Tedd
Povar, '09, Associate Director of the Virginia
Institute of Government, and Paul
Trapp, '10, Managing Principal of the Timmons Group.
