ALP Member Profile Featuring Wendy Thomas, Leadership Tulsa

Wendy Thomas:  "I heard it said once that you can't juggle too many balls effectively.  You only have to keep track of the balls made of glass--those of relative importance.  I try to live by that", said Wendy Thomas.  As the Director of Leadership Tulsa in Oklahoma, Wendy has an important role in keeping the organization relevant.    She is active in her community, staying cued in on issues facing the community, the mood of the community and current trends.  "I had a desire to be in the Leadership Program, when the Executive Director's job opening came up, I applied and have been here for the past ten years.  It's amazing to experience the intellectual curiosity of the participants", said Wendy.  "Its fun to be in the know about everything in the community which our program affords", she added.

Leadership Tulsa was established in 1973 and has over 2,000 alumni of which half are still around and over 300 are fully engaged. We asked Wendy: What two-three things that has contributed to the success of your programs? Her reply:  "We have a good basic philanthropic mindset in our community with long term community support.  We also have been able to maintain a competitive selection process that is fair.  We have a set of established criteria that works".  Wendy gives this advice to other leadership program coordinators:  be flexible, adjust and adapt. Be willing to try new things, get good at risk taking.

To read the full interview, click here.

Leadership Connections - Monthly  "round table topic" Discussions

Don't miss the valuable Leadership Connections monthly teleconference calls.  The round table format is an opportunity to learn and share topics on current trends and best practices.  The next call will be on Tuesday, July 26th, the topic is about Executive Programs.  To register, click here:  Leadership Connections.  "These  teleconference calls continue to be a powerful tool for my leadership program.  I never miss them", commented Mary Whitton, Leadership Longview Partnership, Longview, Texas.  Upcoming Fall sessions will be listed at:  www.alp-leaders.net   More information and conference call times are on the ALP website. 

The conference theme "Beyond Boundaries: Building Regional Leadership Connections", has been set for the Louisville-Southern Indiana Regional Conference to be held October 14, 2011.  There will be topics on engaging graduates, social media strategies, fundraising and participant recruitment.  "We are so excited to host the upcoming Association of Leadership Professional's Regional Conference here this October", said Cynthia Knapek, Vice President of Community Development, Leadership Louisville Center.  "As leadership colleagues we have all expressed the need to network and trade information with our peers in neighboring cities. Reaching across those borders into neighboring communities to make those connections makes this conference theme come alive", she added. The conference will take place at the Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Kentucky and there will be an opening reception across the bridge in Southern Indiana at Buck Heads the evening of October 13, 2011.

The Greenleaf Conference had 635 attendees at the 21st National Leadership Conference held in Dallas earlier this month. ALP was thrilled to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the Greenleaf Center and offer the 100 ALP members that attended an avenue to connect, gain insights from other leadership programs, and stay abreast of current, ever-changing best practices and trends.

"Thank you for a wonderful conference and a great experience!  As a first timer, I really appreciated how welcoming everyone was.  It was apparent how much time was put into planning the conference by the high quality programming and flawless execution."               Alexis Rangel, Program Coordinator, Center for Community Leadership

 "The conference exceed my expectations.  The speakers were excellent, the topics were right on point, and networking time was very valuable.  It was wonderful to have the opportunity to bounce ideas, questions, problems and solutions off of like-minded peers.  My experience in Dallas will truly benefit our Leadership programs."                        Rachael Rahrig, Public Relations Coordinator, Findlay-Hancock County Alliance 

During the conference, ALP leaders held an interactive session with members to further develop resources and explore benefits that would be meaningful to its members.  We are  grateful to the presenters of the ALP workshops.  The evaluation results indicated the sessions were relevant and timely.  Overheard comments: "This is just what I needed", "I can use this in my program", "I can't wait to implement this in my program".  In addition, the Greenleaf Center featured outstanding speakers and the information they shared mirrors what community leadership is all about.  Thank you to Greenleaf for allowing ALP's participation.  And a BIG thank you to all the ALP presenters.

One of the highlights was the Celebration of Awards Dinner.  Keynote Speaker, Roger Duke, Leadership Augusta Georgia and ALP board member, honored the recipients by presenting them with their award.  Each honoree had a representative that gave glowing remarks about their person.  "It is impressive to see the incredible work that is happening in our communities," said Duke.  "The selection process is  difficult  given how much each of the recipients do for their community."   For more information about ALP's award program visit the website at:  www.alp-leaders.net