By: Stacy Campbell-Domineck, President, CareerSource Polk
September 13-14, 2018 will go down as two of the greatest days in American history! These days mark an ASTOUNDING start to a highly anticipated, prolific two year journey for the BEST Leadership Bartow class the Chamber gods have EVER assembled. Hesitant on Day one of the Leadership Bartow Class XVIII Retreat, 33 of the most dynamic, dutiful, doughty and distinctively diverse leaders were brought together, under the dignified leadership of Tanya Tucker, to master the task of learning the name of every single one of their fellow class members. Sources say that this is the ONLY class who has completed this task with such ease and elegance.
But this was only the beginning of the journey for this magnificent manifestation of community leaders. In addition to their exhibited excellence on the aforementioned tasks, they were also challenged to excel with creativity in other tasks. The innuendos of a competition resonated with several members when the orchestrators of this masterpiece of a class delivered instructions without granting authority to the members to ask questions. But it didn’t matter… the teams were assembled, the tasks were assigned and the cream of the crop rose to the top…the top of the tower, that is! No need to wonder which team that was when your arsenal includes dynamite like Baseball BC, Courageous Cindy and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Stacy! Don’t misunderstand… ALL members were just as dynamite, but as the old saying goes, ONLY the TALLEST stands out!
Day two of Leadership Bartow was a revelation of riveting realities! Led by the tremendous trio Bad-to-the-bone Bridget, Magnificent Matt and Fantabulous Frances, each team member received their Myers-Briggs diagnostic results! This was a treat in and of itself as each class members face revealed their extreme excitement about the good parts and their stupendous stupor toward the not-so-good parts about their diagnosis. BUT no matter how piercing the truth could look on paper, Bridget, Matt and Frances mastered this crew like a toddler wrapped in a blanket. These masterminds redirected our attentions to the vast benefits of how we FIT so well in this very diverse universe by contributing our unique experiences and being able to appreciate the perspective of others in our homes, our workplaces and our world!
Finally, the greatest reflections of our reminiscent moments include the talented trailblazers who made this initial experience possible: Heavenly Howe, Just-in-time Jeff, Vivacious Virginia, and Knock-out Kathryn! You all made this an affair to remember.
Thank you for fun fellowship, fantastic food and a stellar start to something wonderful. Can’t wait till next month!
