If the reaction from class members and Board members of the new Leadership Vallejo program was a good measure, the opening two days (Sept. 21-22) of the year-long program were a rousing success.

The 20 members of the organization's first class, selected from among applications submitted to the Leadership Vallejo Board this past spring, spent Friday at the Mare Island Conference Center getting to know each other, learning about the overall parameters of the eight-month program ahead and engaging in an afternoon team-building exercise designed to assess their communication styles, strengths and weaknesses.

The program got underway with introductions and initial presentations by members of the Leadership Vallejo Board of Directors outlining the program's mission and goals -- to develop new leaders for the Vallejo community at all levels through a year-long series of programs, held once a month and each focused on a specific subject area.

""In the months ahead, class members will be examining the city's history, its education programs, its government, and its current and future plans for development," explains LV Chair Leah Dreger of Callahan DeSilva - Vallejo. "They will be learning about the challenges facing our community and they will be asked to form a series of teams and design and implement programs aimed at solving a community problem or providing new resources for the area in such areas as community, education, or youth activities. We began the process of identifying and selecting possible team project subjects during the morning program."

Following a catered luncheon from Gracie's BBQ of Vallejo, the students took part in an afternoon workshop run by Career Counseling Consultant Gina Snyder. The program was designed to assess individual communication styles, strengths and weaknesses.

Students and Board members gathered again Saturday morning at Baci Restaurant in Vallejo for a special team-building exercise centered on cooking. Baci Executive Chef Scott Larson and his team guided the Leadership Vallejo group in the preparation of a multi-course luncheon with everyone pitching in on everything from slicing onions to making ratatouille and stuffed pork loin and then sitting down to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Board members and students finished the Saturday session agreeing that the two days had helped all get to know one another and begin working as a team and learning new skills in the months ahead.

Leadership Vallejo is made possible by student tuitions and by generous donations from community sponsoring organizations including:

The Vallejo Chamber of Commerce, Vallejo Times Herald, Callahan DeSilva Vallejo LLC, The California Maritime Academy, Cooper Crane and Rigging, Georgia House Graphics, Minuteman Press, Touro University, Kaiser Foundation, Lennar Mare Island LLC, Valero Energy Corporation, the Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce and Vallejo Arts Foundation, as well as event underwriters and donors Gracie’s Family BBQ, Vallejo Stationers, Vallejo Redevelopment Agency, and Baci Restaurant.

Additional photos from the initial two days and more information about the Leadership Vallejo program, including sponsorship opportunities for the program and underwriting opportunities for individual programs can be found on their website at www.leadershipvallejo.org.

Left Photo Caption L-R: Suzanne Harrington-Cole, community volunteer; Michelle Morgan of MIT Academy; Christopher Dominguez of the California Highway Patrol and Derik Calhoun of MV Transportation exchange ideas on possible community projects to be undertaken by the first class of Leadership Vallejo during the coming year. The 20 members of the new class took part in a day-long orientation, Friday, Sept. 21st at the Mare Island Conference Center, organized by the Leadership Vallejo Board of Directors. It is the first of 8 monthly training sessions for the group during the coming year, culminating in the creation, development and implementation of community projects developed by small teams of students.

Right Photo Caption L-R: Leadership Vallejo class members Ian Kaiser of Professional File Management; Constance Howard of the Vallejo Chamber; Maria Guevara of GD Ponti and Associates and Sandra Stowes of Sutter Solano Hospital watch as Jocelyn Barerra, sous chef for Vallejo's Baci Restaurant demonstrates proper technique for cutting parsley.
The Saturday Leadership Vallejo program was hosted by Baci with Executive Chef Scott Larson and his staff training and overseeing teams of class members in the preparation of a multi-course luncheon which was then consumed by the students and members of the Leadership Vallejo Board. The donated program was designed as a team-building exercise to help new Leadership Vallejo students and the Board to get to know each other as they embark on a year-long program designed to teach leadership skills and train new leaders for the Vallejo community. The Saturday morning program also asked the class members to begin consolidating ideas for community projects they will be required to complete by the end of the program next spring and to begin forming teams to carry out their ideas