Leadership Southern Maryland Emerging Leaders Program participants repair a deck for a Huntingtown resident as part of a Christmas in April Calvert County project. Photo Credit: Jessicca Gaetano
The Leadership Southern Maryland Emerging Leaders Program (LEAP) Class of 2024 joined forces with Christmas in April Calvert County this month to apply their servant leadership muscle to realizing the home improvement dreams of a Huntingtown resident.
Class members are early- and mid-career professionals from Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties, who are devoting six months to developing their leadership acumen with a particular focus on community leadership.
They spent several months working with Christmas in April Calvert County board members Russell Bowie (president) and Steve Sanders to plan the home improvement project, which involved repairing a deck, replacing a storm door, clearing brush and debris, and power washing the home. The activity was the class capstone project, the culmination of months of study of teamwork and servant leadership.
“The team invested somewhere in the area of 92 person hours in the project,” Sanders said. “The project was very well planned and executed faultlessly. From a results perspective, we met all of our goals: everyone worked well as a team, the product was outstanding, and [the homeowner] was pleased beyond words.”
Earlier in the day, LEAP participants enjoyed intimate conversations about civic engagement and servant leadership with Maryland State Delegate Jeffrie E. Long, Jr. (District 27B) and a panel of nonprofit and local government leaders: Tia Myers (East-John Youth Center); Ed Sullivan (Calvert County Office on Aging); Michelle Sullivan (College of Southern Maryland Nonprofit Institute); Kelly Ward (Solomons Mission Center); and moderator Donna Sisson, LEAP ’22 (CalvertHealth). Delegate Long and the panelists all shared insights about the meaning of servant leadership, discovering and answering one’s call to service, and balancing community engagement with other life commitments.
Leadership Southern Maryland (LSM) is accepting applications for the LSM Emerging Leaders Program (LEAP), a six-month leadership academy for early- and mid-career professionals living or working in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties. LEAP participants strengthen their leadership acumen, develop career plans, and forge connections with LSM’s network of more than 500 community-engaged leaders. The program will run from January 10 through June 20, 2025.
Learn more by attending our LEAP Information Session on Wednesday, May 22, 4-5pm via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Click here to register, or visit www.leadershipsomd.org/programs/leap/ for more information.
Leadership Southern Maryland Emerging Leaders Program participants repair a deck for a Huntingtown resident as part of a Christmas in April Calvert County project. Photo Credit: Jessicca Gaetano
