Leadership Washington offered community insights

I have had many notable experiences in my professional career but this past year I was able to participate in one of my most favorite so far. I had the opportunity to be a part of the Washington Leadership group here in Washington. This is a group of people that are chosen to meet once a month and visit different businesses or organizations around the Washington area. The purpose of this program is to create awareness and appreciation for the many diverse businesses that contribute to our community growth and prosperity. It also helps the participants grow as leaders in the community because of the experiences and knowledge they gain throughout the year.

The participants are people that have been nominated by a former participant. Nominees must apply. After the application process is finished, a group of the new participants are announced. Each month, there is a new place and agenda for the day and it is led by past members that have volunteered their time. We visited various businesses, spots of interest or history in Washington County.

Leadership Washington has been happening since 1989. I learned that my mom had been a part of the first group that year. Even though I have lived in this area my whole life, I was amazed at the businesses and places we visited that I had never heard of and the impact they had on our community. It made me proud to learn of all of the important pieces of our community that fit together to make it an outstanding place to live and work.

Did you know that we have a military museum in Washington? I had driven past that location many times and didn’t even realize we had such an amazing little museum right in our town. Some of my favorite days were the ones led by Mike Zahs. It had been just a few years since my days back at Washington Junior high when Mr. Zahs was my Iowa History teacher and we also learned about Washington County. I appreciated it much more now with an adult perspective than I did back then. Another favorite day was when we were able to go on a plane ride. It was amazing to see a bird’s-eye view of our hometown.

I would like to say a big thank you to the Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to be a part of Leadership Washington and also a thank you to the businesses and organizations that opened their doors and allowed our group to learn more about our community. Washington has a great deal to offer and I am thankful for the opportunity to learn that first hand.