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September, 2024

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Executive Director's Corner

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 "Save the date for our

24th Annual

Spirit of Community Awards Luncheon on December 13th

when we will honor all award winners and enjoy the company of our prestigious alumni and community leaders."

Please note that the deadline for all award nominations is this

Wednesday, September 18th.

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Lee Ann Witt

We are hot and proud of it ! 

The weather continues to break records and so is Scottsdale Leadership!  We are proud to announce Class 39 has 49 fantastic class members – the largest class ever!   I can already hear a few classes preparing to let me know their class boasted that honor…so for the record, Class 31 had 48 members and Class 33 had 47 members.

 

Our second Overnight Class Retreat was a great success!  Special thanks to our Chief Rock Star and Facilitator, Kristi Staab, for inspiring Class 39 and starting their Scottsdale Leadership journey off with a bang!   Our ten Retreat Advisors provided warmth, guidance, and a BIG welcome to our Scottsdale Leadership family.  Thank you to our many volunteers and sponsors! You ALL made a BIG difference!  As one class member shared, “OMG!!! A week later and I am STILL on a high from those two days. Kristi did a fabulous job of preparing us for the role we are taking on and the power we have inside ourselves. I loved getting to know each other with no outside distractions. Just us. Just our purpose for being there.”

 

Our Welcome Reception completed the retreat and was open to all alumni, family, and the community.  We broke another record with an all-time high attendance record!

 

Our first Class Day, Welcome Day, was Friday, September 13th.  Some might be superstitious but no worries.  It was an electric day with relationships already forming and of course, the traditional 90-second commercials!   The day included words of wisdom from Co-Founder Gary Shapiro.  We thank Merle Riepe, President-Elect and President of SOLVE Talent, for sharing the Emergenetic profile assessments with each class member and the class as a whole as they discover their Conceptional, Social, Structural, and Analytical personalities. 

 

There is still room for you to join us at our first Networking event on Thursday, September 19th.  All alumni and class members are invited to hear from Michele Trent, Toastmasters specialist, and speed date your way into new relationships and a lot of fun!

 

NEW this year is our 1-day retreat called the Values Gap Workshop on October 18th.  This is the most timely, relevant, powerful, and game-changing training event you will participate in this year. Led by Kristi Staab, Retreat Facilitator, “It is imperative for leaders to shift how they think, act, and behave to provide the leadership necessary to create unity, trust, and mutual respect in our businesses, communities, and families…even when we have significant differences in our beliefs.” We are offering $100 off the cost for all Active Alumni Donors; the workshop fee includes materials, lunch, and snacks.  There is still time to activate your alumni dues.

 

Do you know a worthy candidate to nominate for our Drinkwater, Hodges, or Jenkins Awards?  The time is NOW. The deadline for all applications is September 18th.  NEW this year is the Frances Young Trailblazer Award.  The Drinkwater Award is for non-alumni community leaders. The Hodges Award is for an alumni community leader, and the Jenkins Youth Leadership Award is for a Junior or Senior high school student that lives in Scottsdale.  The Frances Young Award is for those emerging leaders that are blazing the trails and making an impact in Scottsdale who perhaps do not yet have the longevity of our other award recipients.

 

Save the date for our 24th Annual Spirit of Community Awards Luncheon on December 13th where we will honor all award winners and enjoy the company of our prestigious alumni and community leaders.

 

I’m ready to break a few more records this year and with your participation and support, I am confident we will!

 

Meet Class 39 !

We are so proud to welcome this dynamic group of leaders to our 2024-2025 Leadership Program Class, and look forward to what they will achieve and build for our community.

Here they are

 

Mike Beck, Allied Universal Security Services

Michael Bolinger, Scottsdale Fire Department

Peter Boyle, Center for the Future of Arizona, ASU

Ken Brandeis, Second Half Squad

Mary Collins, City Library, Botanical Gardens

Veronica Corral, Airpark Signs & Graphics

Chad Corwin, Salt River Project

Riczer Desvaristes, Hypamark

Judy Doyle, City of Scottsdale

Lissa Druss, Riot Hospitality Group

Jerimya Fox, Banner Health

Aaron Glaspie, Alkermes Biotech

Matthew Gotschall, Nationwide Insurance

Aaron Greksa, Vitalant

Devin Haggerty, DC Ranch Community Council

Kristy Hahn-McDonald, City of Scottsdale

Alicia Haygood, Scottsdale City Lifestyle & Scottsdale Vibes Podcast

Ryan Hilbun, Ryan Scott Real Estate Solutions

Tara Hunt, Vanguard

Cassie Johnson, City Police Department

Alexa Krause, Hub International

Ethan Kuhns, FirstBank

Rebecca Kurth, City of Scottsdale

Rich LaRue, HomeSmart

Maude LaBelle, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation

Roger Lurie, ASU Technology

Andy McDonald, Scottsdale Fire Department

Rose Meyer, Save the Family 

Kelly Morin, E Squared Marketing

James Palazzolo, JVP MH PLCC

Katie Patten, Vanguard

Frank Pyles, Huntington Learning Center of Arizona

Tawni Rachel, Scottsdale Community College

Katie Rarick, Nationwide Insurance

Michael Ratzken, Two Brothers Realty

Charlie Renfro, FranklinCovey

Jordan Richbourg, City of Scottsdale-Westworld

Rhonda Rush, Impact Events LLC

Matthew Salata, Phoenix Suns

Alexis Sanchez, Boys & Girls Club Scottsdale

Jonathan Savage, Merrill Lynch

Jeremy Schlosser, DocuSign

Lori Schneider, LAUNCH Powered by Compass

Scott Smith, Scottsdale Police Department

Tim Spencer, Nationwide Insurance

Kevin Stone, HonorHealth Research Institute

Jennifer Waldron, Scottsdale Unified School District

Regi Walston, Semi Dep, LLC

Shavona White, Vanguard

Enjoy the photo albums from our Overnight Retreat and Welcome Day !

Meet Your Board Member

Karen Tonkinson, Class 37

Chair of Programs

I'm Karen Tonkinson, and I'm thrilled to be on the Scottsdale Leadership Board as the new chairperson of Core Programs. As a proud graduate of the Legendary Class 37, I am looking forward to an exciting and productive year working with Class 39.

Professionally, I am the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas, and I have been in the hospitality business for over 20 years. This industry has provided me with incredible opportunities to grow and connect with people from all walks of life.

On a personal note, I love spending time with my husband, Alex, and our five children. We are big fans of attending various sporting events together, which is one of our favorite ways to bond as a family.

It was great to meet the members of Class 39 at our Welcome Reception on August 23rd and I look forward to a fantastic year ahead. 

Blast From the Past

Successful organizations like Scottsdale Leadership need people like Jolynn Clarke of Class 10. She is the embodiment of commitment and desire to serve others that makes Scottsdale Leadership great. Even though Jolynn has served our organization at the highest levels – President 2001-2002, she told us she is a self-proclaimed introvert. Her story of overcoming shyness is an inspiration to everyone who wants to get involved. We have enjoyed serving with Jolynn over the years, and we think you will enjoy getting to know her better, just as much as we did.

Jolynn Clarke, Class 10

Chair, Mentoring Committee

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Mark Your Calendar

The Spirit of Community Awards Luncheon
is coming
!

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Wednesday

September 18th

is Last Call 
for Spirit of Community Award Nominations !

Most of our award nominees come from Scottsdale Leadership Alumni. Make sure the deserving person you know is nominated for one of our four prestigious awards.

Get your nominations in now!

We are thrilled to announce our next cruise will be on Virgin Voyages. Our adventure at sea departs on September 5, 2025, and returns on September 12. 2025. Get ready for an unforgettable journey through some of Europe’s most beautiful destinations! Enjoy the company of Scottsdale Leadership alumni and raise money for Scottsdale Leadership all at the same time!

Here is out Itinerary:

   Day 1:  Portsmouth, United Kingdom

   Day 2:  Amsterdam, Netherlands

   Day 3:  Amsterdam, Netherland

   Day 4:  Zeebrugge (Bruges), Belgium

   Day 5:  At Sea

   Day 6:  Le Verdon (Bordeaux), France

   Day 7:  At Sea

   Day 8: Portsmouth, United Kingdom

Terrace (balcony) prices start at $4318 per cabin and will get higher as the sailing date gets nearer.

Attention Scottsdale Leadership 
Wanderlust Travelers

Class 37's Jenn Stockhill, Kelly Laipply, Anne Travous and Erin Krivanek 

Virgin Cruise Adventure!

IN ADDITION...

You can take pride in knowing that every booking supports Scottsdale Leadership!  As graduates of the Legendary Class 37, Kelly and I wanted to pass along our support to the organization that means so much to all of us by personally donating a total of $50 to Scottsdale Leadership for every completed booking after the cruise is over.

Pack your bags and join us for a week of exploration, relaxation, and adventure. We can’t wait to set sail with you!

If you would like more information, or to book,  click HERE.

Questions? Contact Class 37 Alumni, Kelly Laipply, kelly.laipply@fora.travel or Anne Travous, anne.travous@fora.travel

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Kristi Staab
Class 25

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A HUGE thank you to our star facilitator for another great year and all your generous support to Scottsdale Leadership!

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Small Group Facilitators
Who help to make our Retreat such a success!

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LEFT TO RIGHT:

Jenna Kohl, Class 34; Colleen Katz, Class 34; Ryan Sheade, Class 38; Kristi Gagnon, Class 38; Jenn Stockhill, Class 37; Dr. Franny Yerger, Class 16; Suzanne Walden-Wells, Class 16; Katie Pushor, Class 37; Cindi Eberhardt, Class 23; Mike Vreeland, Class 37

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Merle Riepe
Class 30

It is always a great day when Dr. Merle Riepe, our President Elect, is sharing ways in which we can be more aware of various proven psychological and leadership approaches. If we understand ourselves better, we will be better leaders.

 

Thank you, Merle! 

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This month's edition of Branching Out is brought to you thanks to our community partner 

Thank you for investing in Scottsdale Leadership!

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