A group of extraordinary leaders recently assembled in the governor’s reception room in the State House.
Many of them met each other for the first time and connected quickly. And a featured guest seemed impressed by the men and women filling the ornate room with conversation and laughter.
They primarily were members of the class of 2015 of Leadership Maryland (LMD), a statewide program aimed at exposing public, private and non-profit sector leaders to pressing issues facing towns, cities and counties throughout the Free State. Subjects include education, health and human services, criminal justice, environment, economic development and multi-culturalism.
Talbot County residents in the 2015 class include Ken Kozel (CEO, Shore Health System), Liz LaCorte (director of development, Wye River Upper School), Lisa Morgan (senior vice president and wealth director, PNC Wealth Management) and Talli Oxnam (president, Ilex Woodworking and Construction). Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, former District 37 delegate from Talbot County and currently director of intergovernmental relations for Gov. Larry Hogan, organized the annual reception, held each year for the new LMD class. It’s hard to imagine a better way to start a top-flight leadership program than to gather in the historic reception room, surrounded by portraits of former governors, and receive a hearty send-off by the governor.
Also attending were Sandy McAllister, an attorney in the Cambridge office of Miles and Stockbridge, who graduated in 1994 in the second class of Leadership Maryland. Sen. Addie Eckardt, a 2001 graduate, also joined the group.
Gov. Hogan spoke briefly and then spent more than an hour mingling with members of the new class and alumni.
Speaking with the governor for only the second time, I found him friendly, down-to-earth and approachable. He seemed to enjoy spending time with a diverse group of highly accomplished men and women from every part of our state.
For full disclosure, I am a 2005 graduate and LMD board secretary. I always enjoy meeting members of the new classes and encouraging them to view Leadership Maryland as an invaluable opportunity to learn about our state and the challenges facing public and private sector leaders and non-profit.
Visits to prisons in Western Maryland, the center for homeless veterans in Baltimore and the Perdue chicken processing operation in Salisbury and discussion about development pressures facing the Eastern Shore typically draw significant reaction from each class.
An underlying theme calls for LMD graduates to participate in solutions, both small and large, to alleviate some of the problems presented to the class during its six-month program. Of course, that’s easier said than accomplished. In some instances, solutions seem impossible to achieve.
Leadership is often difficult to define. No one mold fits all situations. Like a beautiful painting, when you see it, you know it’s spectacularly creative, to be admired, maybe even imitated, partially. For me, as I participated in Leadership Maryland, I found my classmates thoughtful, energetic and purposeful.
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