Leadership Lexington Class Projects 2011-12
ONCE UPON A STORY: A children’s book fair and reading celebration on Saturday, April 28th in Courthouse Plaza. Group members secured a sponsorship of $5,000 from Alltech and individual contributions arrive daily. Celebrity readers will read their favorite children’s books on center stage throughout the fair, which lasts from 10am-2pm. The group has an online Amazon Wish List where people can support the project through book purchases and Joseph-Beth Booksellers assisted them by offering a discount for a recent book order. The Public Library donated books and gently used books are being collected with the help of a local Eagle Scott. Currently, the group is focused on event logistics and marketing. See Amy Carrington for fliers to post or how to donate. Group Members: Holli Powell, Ann Hammond, Stephen Noel, Julie Goodpaster, Dawn Pope, Kate Giuliani, and Mark Wiemer Alumni Liaisons: Angie Smith (11) and Kathy Begley (11).
PLANT TO PLATE: A nutrition education program for high school mothers at the Family Care Center. The group organized an educational speaker series for the students at FCC, which kicked off in February with a nutritionist speaking about the importance of healthy eating. The series will continue with a cooking demonstration by local chef Jeremy Ashby of Azure. A farmer has agreed to offer guidance and assist the students as they plant and harvest vegetables and herbs in the school’s container garden (10 bourbon barrels as well as seed were donated for the project). Group members are creating a book with information about growing vegetables and cooking healthy meals with the nutritionist’s assistance. They started an Amazon Wish List to increase the number of books about nutrition for the FCC library. A field trip for the FCC students to their neighboring One Parent Scholar House (a home for single parent, college students who grow their own food in an on-sight garden) is included in the project as well. FCC and project members will be honored at the upcoming local Food Summit at the end of March and they will be featured on Jeremy Ashby and Sylvia Lovely’s radio show, “Sunny Side Up”. Group Members: Ken Gish, Amy Sohner, Meredith Lane, Darren Fox, Branden Gross, Jana Smoot White, Keeana Boarman, Debbie Green, Christy Lewis, Darya Buneyeva, Chris Colson, Andy DeMoss, Kara Heissenbuttel, Joseph Ruschell, Jessica Tretter, Jason Ams and Emily Cowles. Alumni Liaisons: Jim Embry (84), Hannah Huggins (11) and Vitale Buford (08).
LeXConnect: The group is planning a conference for young professionals and college seniors to be held September 13th at one of the downtown hotels. During the conference, attendees will break out into sessions focusing on the following topics: Leadership Development, Entrepreneurialism, Career Development and Community Involvement. The conference aims to help with retention of young professionals in Lexington. They are seeking partners (individuals, groups and organizations) to participate in and sponsor the conference. Group Members: Rebecca Barnes, Margaret Ridley, Clay Angelucci, Eric Gilliam, Crady deGolian, Billie Peavler, Amelia Martin Adams and Michael Bailey Alumni Liaisons: Susan Rayer (84) and Daryl Smith (07).
LexGive: Aimed at raising awareness about local non-profits, the group has developed a two-tiered approach, which includes a website featuring non-profits and an event to be held on August 25th at Courthouse Plaza. The website has been created by Neil Metcalfe of WebMedley. Group members developed criteria for which nonprofits went through in order to be featured on the website. All organizations featured are invited to participate in the event. A smaller committee is focusing on event logistics. The event will begin in the morning with the nonprofits being introduced then people in attendance will sign-up for the opportunity to spend the rest of the day volunteering with one of the nonprofits. Group Members: Grant Mills, Stephanie Harris, Chris Crumrine, Todd Sallee, Doyle Freano, Afsi Siahkoohi, Lyndi Van Deursen, Preston Worley, Rachel Ray, Greg Hayden, Carl Frazier and Stephen Mallory Alumni Liaison: Anthony Everett (10).
Leadership Lexington Class Projects 2010-11
The class chose four different areas of concern in which to target their project work. They are as follows:
AREA OF FOCUS: DOWNTOWN
Scavenger Hunt Team: The scavenger hunt is scheduled to be held April 10, 2011. Registration from 12:00 – 1:00 with the scavenger hunt to be held from 1:00 – 4:00. The date will be good because the project will be able to piggy back off of the chili cook-off also going on downtown that day. The objective of the project is to bring more people downtown as well as more awareness of what Lexington has to offer in terms of retail, history and activity.
> Group is meeting every two weeks
> Need sponsors
> Finalizing clues and sites
> At the next meeting, finalizing sponsorship levels, website, t-shirts, flyers.
Member comment: “The group is working well together and the sub-committees are going well.”
AREA OF FOCUS: COMMUNITY CONNECTIVITY
Leadership Lexington Alumni Association Team: The team originally started out as “Assessing Community Needs” and has since morphed into the LL Alumni Group. Their goal is to establish a sustainable Leadership Lexington alumni organization with a mission to connect, engage and inspire graduates.
> Setting up guidelines
> Creating a business plan
> Establishing scholarships
> Updating database - everybody on the team had been assigned a list of alumni to contact
> Planning two soft social events, one in March and April before big kickoff on June 2
> Planning a kickoff event directly after graduation on June 2 at 4:30
Member comment: “Our project is a value-added entity for Lexington increasing connectivity and building relationships.”
AREA OF FOCUS: HEALTH
Live Healthy Lexington Team - Fit City: The childhood obesity team has morphed into “creating a healthy Lexington” team.
> Establishing criteria the city has to meet
> Probably partnering with the American Heart Association
> Deadline to complete their project is April 23 at the American Heart Walk at UK
> Met with Vice Mayor-possible interest in this for LFUCG employees
Member comment: “We are trying to be deemed a healthy city with city initiatives, building on the success of the legacy trail. Establishing what designates Lexington as a “healthy city.”
AREA OF FOCUS: EDUCATION AND HUMAN SERVICE
Gummy Bears/Mighty Moms: The Gummy Bears program started at Beaumont Middle School – General population students mentor special needs kids. This program started as the “Gummy Bears Club” and has grown from 3 kids to 80 kids. This project team wants to roll out the program to all Fayette County Schools. Superintendent Stu Silberman was pleased and has backed them.
> Each team member has task to contact a representative at each school
> Finding ways to spread the word that we don’t use the “R” word
> May 25th – All of Beaumont group is going to the Lexington Legends Game
> Mighty Moms-project group planning a spa day for parent of special need student
Leadership Lexington Class Projects 2009-10
PROJECT #1: Family Resource Fair
A Family Resource Fair entitled the "Live, Work, and Be Healthy Family Resource Fair" was held on May 15 at the Fayette County Cooperative Extension Service. The purpose was to promote resources available in Fayette and surrounding counties for housing, jobs, and health issues, which the group cited as the biggest areas of concern for underserved families in the Lexington area. Organizers worked in concert with vendors throughout the Central Kentucky region to provide a wide range of services in the areas of education, finance, health and wellness, and the arts. In addition, there was food, music, and children's activities available on-site. This free event was made possible by sponsors Kentucky American Water, Fifth Third Bank, and Central Bank.
PROJECT #2: Lexington Public Art Catalog
In a highly-competitive, national search, 134 artists vied for an opportunity to participate in Lexington's new public art project. The project, a collaboration between this year's Leadership Lexington class and LexArts, is intended to give the community a head start on gaining more public art. In January, the Leadership Lexington group published a formal Request for Qualifications for artists desiring to create a permanent, public work in downtown Lexington. In response to this call, artists from throughout the United States submitted their portfolios of representative public art. A jury of local art professionals from across Lexington selected 15 semi-finalists whose portfolios were displayed in April at the Creative Cities Summit and Gallery Hop, where members of the public voted. The five finalists have been invited to submit an art concept, also called a proposal. The five public art proposals will be displayed in July and each of the artists has committed to create and install his or her proposal in Lexington upon being commissioned.
PROJECT #3: Barrier Free Play- ground at Castlewood Park
The Barrier Free Playground at Castlewood Park in Lexington is a project of class members who felt the need for a play area that children of all abilities could enjoy. It is a renovation and addition of an existing playground in a predominately low-income neighborhood; utilized each year by the city for its Therapeutic Recreation Camp for children. The renovation calls for the installation of a softer rubber surfacing, new equipment that meets the needs of kids of varying abilities, shading over the play area, and new landscaping. In order to design this new play space, this group has worked closely with the city, specifically the Parks and Recreation Department and the staff of the Therapeutic Recreation Camp. The group also met with, and took suggestions from several local organizations that would benefit from this type of playground; plus, this group intends to participate in this summer's Therapeutic Recreation Camp.
PROJECT #4: Financial Literacy
The current financial crisis accentuates the fact that we need for people of all ages, from all professions and all levels of income to be financially literate. In the least, everyone should be able to have access to good, unbiased financial advice. From these initial thoughts, The Leadership Lexington Financial Literacy Group was born. Understanding that this would be a great feat, the group decided to sets its immediate sights at accomplishing small, yet impactful goals. The group decided to target two to three specific local groups in the community to which they would provide financial literacy workshops. The group designed a financial curriculum and presented workshops providing tips to both seniors at the LFUCG Senior Citizens Center and students at Bryan Station HS on how to be “money smart.” A third workshop is being planned for this summer with the YMCA of Central Kentucky's Black Achievers program.