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Last summer, my wife urged me to enroll in the Leadership Auburn program. I protested, hemmed and hawed, and argued that I already knew the various aspects of the city because it was my job. Hearing none of it, she dragged me to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and supervised me as I filled out the application form and forked over my $25 deposit. Rachel graduated from the program in June of 2006 and believed I would get a lot out of the experience.
In October, I walked into the home of Bill and Janet North, the first
official gathering of the 2007 Class of Leadership Auburn. Around me
was a room full of strangers. We chatted and tried to get to know each
other, but it just wasn’t happening. What did I get myself into? Rod
Gross, a person we would all get to know very well over the next nine
months, broke us off into smaller groups. We were told we needed to
come up with three truths and a lie and pitch them to our group to see
if the lie could be detected. It was fun and one of the first of many
exercises meant to bond us.
Later that month, we all gathered at Lake Tahoe for a three-day retreat
with team-building guru Scott Winter. During that time, we were put
through the ringer. Late nights rolled into early mornings and our
problem-solving skills were stretched to their limits. We were given
seemingly impossible tasks and forced to work together to get them
done. As a group, we all committed to one another that we would be the
first class to complete a project. We had no idea what that would take.
Over the next nine months, we knew that a once-per-month class session,
followed by a one-hour project session, wouldn’t be enough. We broke
into teams, each with their own responsibilities, and met outside the
classroom. Meetings were held at homes, bars, restaurants and
businesses.
When we decided funds needed to be raised, the public relations team
volunteered to handle a fundraiser, giving Leadership Auburn its first
real reunion. We gave direction to the program organizers that every
year, the new class should host this event. Remaining funds are to be
put into a scholarship fund for future Leadership Auburn students.
When the group’s landscaping project finally got the green light, Alexa
Dal Pino, of Dal Pino Pools, stepped up to ensure we could get it done.
Work parties were organized and over a couple of months, the site was
cleared, cleaned, trenched and loaded up with plants and a watering
system (with help from Placer County Water Agency and the City of
Auburn). Just a few hours before graduation, six students rushed to the
site to repair a faulty irrigation line and get the watering timers
working. It was a fitting end to this class of firsts, dubbed the
“can-do class” by Wayne Manning. What they could have put off until
Saturday or Sunday, they opted to do on Friday, so they could say they
finished the project (another first for a Leadership Auburn class)
before the graduation ceremony.
On Friday evening, under a blue sky at the Headquarter House, the
Leadership Auburn Class of 2007 celebrated their accomplishments and
received their plaques. Again, this class of firsts decided a month
earlier that the official graduation wasn’t going to be enough. They
organized their own celebration at the home of Scott and Alia
Shuttleworth the next day.
In the beginning, I was reluctant to enroll in the program because I
didn’t think I would learn anything. What I didn’t expect was to make
so many new friends. I guess my wife was correct after all.
After what my class accomplished this year, I am eager to see what the class of 2008 has in store for Auburn.
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