October 2010—Manassas, VA. Leadership Prince William, Inc. Kicks off the 2010-2011 year with accelerated learning. The class of 2011 participated in a two-day opening retreat at Skyland in Shenandoah National Park. The retreat helped the class to examine the way they think and behave. They were introduced to a framework for effecting change and personalized tools to heighten their effectiveness as leaders. The participants also had the opportunity to consider their strengths and how their future interactions can have a positive effect on the community.

Jan Day Gravel, Janus Development Group, facilitated the group dynamic using Emergenetics®, a clearer understanding of how people live, work and interact. Kathy Ellington, Leadership Prince William Executive Director; Charlyn Hasson-Brown (LPW ’08), CASA Executive Director; Nicole Negvesky (LPW ’10), Brown & Brown Insurance of Virginia; Kim Taylor-Wilson (LPW ’09), President of The Premier Consulting Group; and Jim Elliott (LPW ’10), Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending, First VA. Community Bank led the group in various team building exercises throughout the retreat.

“Our Leadership Prince William opening retreat was richly rewarding. The event organization was so comprehensive that each of us had the opportunity to step away from our day-to-day responsibilities and begin a bonding process with our classmates. Of equal importance, we had ample time and assistance to look inward and conduct self assessments. With these two days as the kick-off, it is going to be a fantastic year,” said 2011 LPW Class member Dave Grover.

Class member Mary Beth Gibson said, “It was a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with other leaders in various professions throughout the county. I am excited about the coming educational sessions and look forward to doing my part to helping make Prince William County an even better place in which to live and work.

”I am pleased to announce our newest Leadership Prince William class for 2011. Leadership Prince William focuses on creating a diverse and dedicated network of leaders committed to growing and strengthening the greater Prince William area." said Kathy Ellington, Executive Director.

The individuals selected to participate in the 2011 Leadership Prince William Class are:

Barry Barnard, Prince William County Police Department
John T. Carradice, CFP® Carradice & Associates
Denyse Carroll, SPARK Education Foundation for
  Prince William County Schools
Chris Caseman, United Way of the National Capital Area
Leza Conliffe, Blankingship & Keith, P.C.
Collin Davenport, Office of Congressman Gerald E. Connolly
Dawn Davis, Apple Federal Credit Union
Mary Beth Gibson, Prince William Health System
John Gray, John S. Gray CPA PL
Prem S. Grewal, Freeman & Sherburne, Inc.
David Grover, Washington Square Associates, Inc.
Beverly Hess, Youth Orchestras of Prince William
Jason E. Hickman, Compton Duling LC
Susan Johnson, The EDGE, George Mason University
Christopher Leet, M.D., Prince William Cardiology Associates
Stephanie Lykins, Virginia Commerce Bank
Barbara Main, AAM, J & J Automotive Services
Barbara Owens, Pre Paid Legal and Identity Theft Protection Services
Mike Payne, Didlake, Inc.
Sarah Pitkin, PhD., Pitkin’s Home Center, Inc.
Almeta Radford, Manassas City Public Schools
Kelly Rice, Prince William County Schools
Christine R. Shartzer, Logis-Tech, inc.
John Shiflett, Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue
Elizabeth Sykes, Greater Prince William Community Health Center
Troy D. Tanner, The Home Energy Detective, Inc.
Vanessa Watson, The City of Manassas Park
Laurie Wieder, Prince William Chamber of Commerce

Prior to departure for the retreat, the latest Leadership Prince William class members were honored with a coffee held at George Mason University. Attendees included Leadership Prince William Alumni and members of the LPW Board of Regents and representatives from Virginia Commerce Bank, Direction Sponsor for Leadership Prince William 2011.

Leadership Prince William Board of Regents Co-Chairs Molly Grove (LPW ’08), Director of Campus Relations, George Mason University and Jim DiModica (LPW ’09), President of APT Impact welcomed guests. They applauded the new class members remarking, “Thank you for stepping up to help affect positive change for the Prince William communities.”

Steve Reeder, Executive Vice President and Chief Deposit Officer of Virginia Commerce Bank, congratulated the Class of 2011. As Direction Sponsor, he encouraged them by saying “Make the most of the honor and opportunity of Leadership Prince William through positive energy, a proactive approach to class endeavors and perseverance in the face of any difficulties that may arise along the way.”

Dominion Power of Virginia sponsored the two-day event. “Dominion is pleased and considers it an honor to support Leadership Prince William” said Deborah Tompkins Johnson, Dominion spokesperson. She continued, “We believe in continuous learning and leadership development. Having participated in Leadership Prince William’s opening retreat as a part of the planning process in the past, I am confident about the useful information participants received related to how they think and behave and how they can use those revelations in various settings.”

“Our program goal is to connect and inspire our participants to maximize their contributions to the Prince William community” said Kathy Ellington. “Once again, we have an outstanding group of leaders involved."

Leadership Prince William’s Vision Partner is Prince William Chamber of Commerce. Foundation Partners include George Mason University, Dominion Virginia and Micron Technology.