News

October 7, 2022
It was a tremendous privilege for our class 35 to experience all the expertise of Napa Valley’s Agriculture leaders on Ag Day on October 7. Our all day experience began in the vineyard as the sun came up, with 3 of Napa finest vineyardists giving a wonderful hands-on tutorial. We learned everything from soil science to vineyard management and how Napa’s vineyard stewards help promote healthy ecosystems. Then we met at Meadowood for a series of speakers and dialogues from every segment of the Napa wine growing industry.  

We learned the history of the unique Napa Ag Preserve, the industry and governmental organizations that manage/produce our vineyards and wine, and how the industry is working with farm-workers to promote health and professional skills.

Ted Hall enlighten us with his captivating talk on the economics of Organic Farming and the impact to our eco system. Our creativity was tested during the day with an Ag Ad-Hoc project. Our classes projects solved issues from a span of urban development to bugs in our soil infusing nitrogen.  

Farmstead served a delicious farm-to-table lunch. We closed the day with a tour of fire mitigation efforts near Pritchard Hill and at Colgin winery.  After driving through the fire trails and learning how Howell Mountain residents and wineries have pulled together to plan and prepare for fires we took a deep breath as we learned that an emergency radio channel was being established for the wineries in that region.   Overall, it was amazing to see 18 agricultural and wine industry professionals devote their time to our education and understanding!
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Class 35 Agriculture Day Gratitude Team members:

Bruce Barge - Principal, Bruce Barge Coaching and Consulting
Janette Books - Founder and Fiduciary, D4 Fiduciary and Business Advisory Services
Jen Cantrell - Staff Service Analyst II, County of Napa Health & Human Services Agency
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About this post:
The purpose of the Attitude of Gratitude program is (1) to thank our extraordinary Day Coordinators who provide the information and experiences that make each of the program days exceptional, and (2) to reflect on what has changed for the class members as a result of their participation in Leadership Napa Valley. For each of the class program days, a gratitude team is assigned to make sure all the individuals responsible for coordinating, facilitating, and presenting the day are thanked.

Program Day: September 23, 2022

A special shout out to Mary Rezek for setting the stage so early in the morning by digging deep and sharing truths in the first activity with the entire class. The activity was to walk around a field of photos lying on the ground and pick one that represented ourselves as individuals and our leadership style. We were then asked to share our personal attachment to the photo with others as well as have them ask personal questions about it. Many members of the class, ourselves included, felt this was a great way to start the day with some human connection that allowed us to move through the day with authenticity and vulnerability.

The next portion of the morning we broke into four groups and four respective corners to define on paper what was good leadership, bad leadership, what made us want to follow/be a good leader and the signs of a bad leader. What started out as one-word adjectives to describe the good and bad in the first rotation became sentences by the end of four rotations.

Prior to breaking for lunch, we met with our Triad groups and developed our individual Plan of Actions for LNV Class of 35 and worked within our groups to assist each other on that plan.

Classmates were especially grateful for lunch provided by fellow Class 35 member, Ryan Stetins, owner of the fabulous Compline Restaurant and Wine Shop in downtown Napa. No regrets having their duck fat fries!

Following lunch, we were thankful to hear from three alumni members, Kevin Hansen (33), Isly San Pedro (34), and Susan Larson-Bouwer about their practicum projects, pitfalls to avoid, and to speak up if something isn’t working within your group – after all, we are here to become better leaders so don’t stay silent. With this information fresh in hand, the class found out who their practicum team members were and met as teams for about an hour to learn more about each other.

The day wouldn’t have been complete without the preview for Agriculture and Winery Day. Class 35 is ready to make its mark on the Napa Valley and being remembered as the best Class ever.

Many thanks to Jill Techel, Mary Rezek, Katherine Zimmer Burke and Carolyn Hamilton for keeping us engaged throughout the class and keeping it relevant! The day was an opportunity for each of us to self-reflect on what’s important to us, what fuels and motivates us, and how we can show up as better leaders.

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Class 35 Leadership Seminar Day Gratitude Team members:
Mimi Adams, Operations Manager, Napa Farmers Market
Erica Ahmann Smithies, Public Works Director, City of American Canyon
Natalie Aliga, Vice President & Community Relations Bay Area Market Manager, Citi Bank

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About this post: 
The purpose of the Attitude of Gratitude program is (1) to thank our extraordinary Day Coordinators who provide the information and experiences that make each of the program days exceptional, and (2) to reflect on what has changed for the class members as a result of their participation in Leadership Napa Valley. For each of the class program days, a gratitude team is assigned to make sure all the individuals responsible for coordinating, facilitating, and presenting the day are thanked.