The Fellows Dinner on March 8th was, by all early indications, our most successful ever, thanks to a super committee and wonderful cooperation from DFW Airport and American Airlines. We portrayed Jeff Fegan, CEO of the airport, as “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in song and skit. A new AA Boeing 737-800 was on display and some 550 people were treated to “The Most Entertaining Party of the Year.” Kick yourself silly if you missed it.

With the new year now one-fourth gone, how thankful we are that Leadership Fort Worth continues to enjoy the support of our area leaders, regardless of their profession. This was brought home particularly at the Fellows Dinner and at the “Big Brainstorm” in December when we kicked off Mayor Price’s youth initiative at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Our task was to facilitate the afternoon’s discussions and to provide a mentor at each of the 32 tables. Our Leading Edge and Leadership Class alums came through once again, getting “Steer Fort Worth” - you gotta love the name – off to a good start. LFW continues to provide management of that initiative for the Mayor’s office.

About 70 of us gathered at the Rahr Brewery in mid-December for a bit of Christmas cheer. And another 75 or so attended the Stock Show and had a special “Behind the Scenes” tour in January. Thanks to Amy Plaskota and her committee for planning and delivering two fun evenings.

The new Leading Edge class is well under way. With more applicants than we had room for, we had to turn away some outstanding individuals again this year. If someone you recruited was among them, please don’t be discouraged. Another year of volunteerism will greatly improve their chances of making the cut next year.
You can find news about the Leadership Class and LeaderKids elsewhere on this site, so I’ll just say, “Whew, busy times!”

This is the time of the year to recruit for members of the 2013 Leadership Class. Encourage someone you know to apply for a terrific experience and membership in an outstanding network.

Be a leader out there today. Get involved, study the challenge and speak your mind. There are way too many sheep.

Lee Rogers

Pink Things and Lemon Chills! Crazy Horse Saloon. The Six Flags Over Texas Carousel. These thins all bring back memories. They also brought to life the exciting and fun-filled Closing Retreat Weekend!

Determined to make the Closing Retreat memorable and fun, this innovative committee selected Six Flags Over Texas as the venue with the most fun-appeal. Graduation was set for the Ballpark in Arlington and a special dinner celebration was held at Olenjack’s Grille.

“We owe it all to Jim Brothers, the marketing director for Six Flags who also happens to be a Leadership Fort Worth graduate from 1999,” said Tom Mitchell, chief financial officer for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Mitchell made contact with Brothers early on in the process when locating a viable venue in Fort Worth started turning up empty.

“There was a convention in town during the same weekend as our graduation and there were no rooms at the inn, or the hotels, or motels or just about anything in Fort Worth!” said Paula Parrish, director of advancement for Fort Worth Country Day School. “Barbara Stone of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, a LFW graduate class of 2005, suggested we try Arlington. We were lucky to get the Crowne Plaza Suites Hotel in Arlington because the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau said the same convention booked 30 percent of the rooms there as well. We are so happy, though, because we are the first LFW class to host its closing retreat and graduation in Arlington!”

Devenport arranged for the keynote graduation speaker, Marc Veasey, a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Fort Worth. This up-and-comer political insider solidified the retreat weekend with brilliant closing remarks.

He was accompanied by noted Fort Worth author, historian, attorney and teacher, Quentin McGown, author of Historic Photos of Fort Worth, Fort Worth in Vintage Postcards and Fort Worth: Tours and Trails. McGown was on hand to present autographed versions of his book as graduation presents. McGown graduated from LFW in 1992.

The LFW closing retreat serves as a forum to present the results of the class projects completed during the program year. These presentations took place in the Crazy Horse Saloon at Six Flags. The class met early to enjoy breakfast and enjoyed a walking tour of the park with Brothers after several early reports. They had their class picture made by famous local Fort Worth photographer Glen Ellman in front of the Carousel. Ellman then slipped away to make 50 copies of the class photo and the committee placed them into custom-imprinted mats and frames, another graduation present and keepsake.

After lunch at Casa de las Banderas, the participants returned to the Crazy Horse Saloon for the remaining project reports and then the class was welcome to roam the Park for the rest of the afternoon.

This memorable day was brought to a close at a fantastic three course meal at Olenjack’s Grille, followed by camaraderie and lively conversation with a night cap in the atrium bar of the hotel. Saturday morning brought the official graduation ceremony held in the Legends of the Game Museum and Auditorium at the Ballpark in Arlington. Certificates of completion were awarded, next year’s elected representatives were named and other business was conducted.

It was a memorable and FUN way to end the year.

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The final retreat is a chance to celebrate class accomplishments and enjoy good times with great new friends. The theme of the 2004 Final Retreat was “Leaders of the Pack: On the Prowl in Panther City.” Class members stayed at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel, and began the retreat with lunch at RadioShack’s Answers University. Dr. Victor Boschini, Texas Christian University Chancellor, provided a humorous and insightful view of leadership, becoming a Horned Frog and getting to know Fort Worth.

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