Are you looking for ways to reconnect with your classmates? Do you want to know how this year's class is doing? When was the last time you used the services of a local Richardson business? When is the next SAFE get together? The answers to all of these questions and more can be found in the latest LRAA Newsletter.

Stay informed and stay connected! 

September 2020


Thank you for your responses to the 2020 LRAA Member Survey.  We’ve learned a lot and hope to incorporate your ideas into this   year’s planning. Here are some of the results:

 When would you be comfortable meeting again in person?

  •    51% When the number of cases trend downward for a significant period of time
  •    31% Now, with safety protocols and following guidelines in place

 Based on current conditions, how would you like to meet?

  •  Leadership Development:  54% Virtually, 30% In person, socially distanced
  • After Session Happy Hours:  31% Outdoors, socially distanced, 24% In person, socially distanced
  •  LRAA Social Activities:      36% Outdoors, socially distanced, 25% In person, socially distanced
  •  Volunteer Opportunities:  36% Outdoors, socially distanced, 30% In person, socially distanced

 Leadership Opportunities Interests:

  •     60% Leadership Development
  •     48% Communication techniques
  •     46% Subgroup meetings (ie: entrepreneurs, corporate employees, nonprofits, etc.)
  •     45% Mastermind groups (peer-to-peer mentoring)
  •     45% Diversity and Inclusion

 Volunteer Opportunities:

  •     Network
  •     RISD
  •     Richardson Symphony
  •     Boys and Girls Club
  •     YMCA
  •     RALC
  •     Habitat for Humanity
  •     Handyman service for elderly

 With your suggestions and input, we will endeavor to:

  •     Provide regular LRAA updates, upcoming events and opportunities to get involved
  •     Enhance the LRAA website for easier use
  •     Develop a group volunteer project for the year
  •     Provide more occasions to connect with your fellow alumni



We are challenging the process to help standardize our membership dues.

Currently, the Leadership Richardson Alumni Association (LRAA) accepts dues throughout the year for membership.  Under the current model, your membership renews for one calendar year from the day payment is received by the LRAA.  However, because of the variability of payment, there was not a consistent membership year.

For the 2020-2021 membership year, the LRAA Board elected to implement a new dues structure where the membership year coincides with the LRAA fiscal year, July 1st to June 30th.   Under this model, all dues would be applied to the fiscal year and provide a member with eligibility for the year regardless of when payment is received.  All members would share the same renewal and same expiration date. 

Because of this unique transition, members could find their status in between membership years. Therefore, if you paid dues anytime after April 1, 2020, your membership will be extended to June 30, 2021.  Please allow us the necessary time to update everyone’s records, as the conversion will not be automatically applied.   If you have any questions about your membership, please feel free to contact our Vice President of Membership, Coby Pewitt, at coby.pewitt@cor.gov.



Community Engagement this year will focus on providing information to our membership about different organizations that service our community.  We will also provide information about volunteer opportunities if you would like to get involved with some of the groups and let you know of board positions you may be interested in pursuing. 

Here are this month's opportunities:

Richardson Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association usually holds an Electronic Recycling and Paper Shredding event in conjunction with Trash Bash.  They are not holding it this year but are asking for donations to help with the cost of an outdoor kitchen for the Police Department. If you're interested, please visit their website at www.rcpaaa.org.

Richardson Adult Literacy Center needs volunteers for teaching, translations, Board service and technology assistance.  Please contact their new Executive Director, Sonali Patnaik at director@ralc.org for more information.

Richardson Citizen Fire Academy Alumni Association (RCFAAA) needs your help feeding evacuees affected by the recent hurricanes. Volunteers and carts are grouped by a block of floors and each of these floor groups needs to have one person able to maneuver a somewhat heavy (estimated 80 lbs., plus or minus) food service cart with multiple shelves. It is recommended that anyone who is physically able to push the cart indicate so in the comment line for each slot that is being registered so organizers know that there’s at least one cart-capable person for each cart being operated. Shifts typically run about an hour Volunteers are meeting near the check-in desks of the Renaissance Hotel, across from the Eisemann Center. Use the following link to sign up for a shift.  Feeding Evacuees

Richardson Police Department is holding a canned food drive benefiting the food bank at Network of Community Ministries. Canned goods can be dropped off on Saturday, September 19th, 2020 from 8am to 12pm.  This event will take place in the south parking lot at the Richardson Civic Center located at 411 W. Arapaho Road, adjacent to Belle Grove Drive. Look for the police car. Network is requesting that only non-expired food be donated. If you cannot attend, you can always make donations to directly to Network located at 741 South Sherman Street in Richardson, or by calling 972-234-8880.

If you have an organization you would like to highlight or know of a volunteer opportunity please let me know.  I can be reached at 214-476-7364 or veenapop-2005@yahoo.com.



We could have made the theme “36 Feet Away,” but instead 32 voyagers have officially set sail to launch the 36th class of Leadership Richardson to navigate a “Sea of Possibilities!”  Taking part in the first ever virtual Amazing Richardson Road Rally on August 27, teams learned about Richardson, not by traveling streets of our city, but in breakout rooms complete with PowerPoint clues and Google…plus an added bonus to phone a friend if they got totally stuck.  While they didn’t have the opportunity to physically see so many sites and historical markers, they also didn’t have to sweat their way around town!! 

Lemonade out of lemons – CHECK!   

Although significantly smaller than the most recent groups, class 36 is diverse and eclectic and includes a variety of ages, backgrounds and careers.  The next nine months promise to offer a rich year of learning and networking to expand the bench of leaders in Richardson. 

The newest members of the next BEST CLASS include:

Lori Baul GEICO

Paul Falcon Texans Credit Union

Emily Fletcher Methodist Richardson Medical Center

Michelle Gross Children's Health

Dirk Hansen RHSB

Shelley Hicks Canyon Creek HOA

Virginia Hummel GEICO

Bao Huynh Dallas College - Richland Campus

Ben Isaac Home Care Assistance of Richardson

Christopher Link Covius Holdings

C. Patrice Lockett Dallas College - Richland Campus

Amy Martin Go Gourmet Catering

Angela McCants Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate

Doug McDonald City of Richardson

Mark Nelson City of Richardson

Matthew Parmerlee Golden Tree Restaurants, LLC

Huseyin Peker The Dialogue Institute Dallas

Holly Petty Plano ISD

Shawn Poe City of Richardson

Audrey Pruski Richardson Symphony Orchestra

Vicki Ratliff Vicki S. Ratliff, PC

Samantha Smith John Moore State Farm

Jeannie Stone Richardson ISD

Natalie Storrs Advancial

Cathy Sweeney Arapaho United Methodist Church

Jordan Swim VESTALS Catering

Evan Taylor UBS Financial Services

Gary Tittle Richardson Police Department

Kaylan VanPelt Network of Community Ministries

Katie Warren The Law Office of Lisa G. Garza, P.C.

Eva Wilkins Lush Catering Co.

Erin Williams Edward Jones

Statistically, the makeup includes 19 women, 13 men, five RISD graduates and one from PISD, 26 who work in Richardson, 16 city residents and eight who fall in both categories of living and working in Richardson.

Please welcome the newest class to the LR family!


Karen Springs, Past Presidents' Club 2020-2021

1.     Where has your leadership journey taken you, since your service year as the President of LRAA?

Well, my service year has only been complete for about two months, so I don’t know that my journey has taken me far.  However, in 2020 sometimes each week feels like a month, so maybe I do have some perspective here.

My role in the community, my home and my work have all changed in the past six months.  It has been an opportunity to remember that as we progress along a leadership journey – since we all know it isn’t a destination – that connection and communication goes a long way. 

2.      What are you doing today and how do you think LRAA has influenced you?

I’m in a role that I LOVE at the American Heart Association.  I work as a director in the corporate communications department, supporting our work in hospitals to improve care practices, all levels of CPR training from community Girl Scout leaders to the highest trained medical professional, and supporting our research into COVID-19 and its impact on heart and stroke patients.  It has been an amazing year in that regard and I’ve learned so very much. 

I’m very often in a position to follow all five of our leadership practices – but I lean most closely to encouraging the heart of others, enabling others to act and challenge the process. 

3.      Thinking back to your year in the LR class and your service on the LRAA Board of Directors, what do you recall as your favorite memory?  

I think year over year, my favorite memories come from the New Class Reception.  The energy and excitement of reuniting with friends and remembering the budding camaraderie of those first months fills me with nostalgia each time.  It is also a great opportunity to give back, with auction donations and purchases benefiting the scholarship fund.  As a scholarship recipient, it was cool to see how much joy was in the room when the funds were being raised. 

                                                  

And the board dinners.  Those are SUPER fun and wonderful food. 

4.       As LRAA President (or since, as a Past President), what are some lessons you’ve learned and how could they help a future President for the Leadership Richardson Alumni Association?

Embrace the rubber chickens.  2020 did not bring an easy second half to my tenure, but the kindness, cooperation and communication of the team and the membership did. 

The same tenets have been true in my family and work life.  When you can embrace the rubber chickens and keep your eye on the goal – and the intention of the goal.  You can adjust, improvise and embrace where you find yourself.

5.   What are your favorite leadership books, podcasts, TedTalks, etc that you recommend to other (aspiring) leaders?

I really like “Hello, Monday” with Jessi Hempel and “WorkLife” with Adam Grant.  They both explore work, and life, with a lens of embracing the constant of change with an optimistic flair. 

6.      What is your “call to action” to the current LRAA membership?

Truly connect with each with a spirit of understanding and grace, remembering that together we do great things. 

                                       

(c) 2020 Leadership Richardson Alumni Association

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software