Following is a recap of the 2012-13 Leadership Hardin County Team Building Retreat submitted by class members Cameron Brown, First-Citizens Bank and John Wright, Hardin County Schools.
Rough River State Park hosted the opening retreat for Leadership Hardin County. The event built team rapport and challenged the class to think toward the future. Team members introduced one another, presented their personal background and history in Hardin County, and participated in activities that required teamwork and coordination. Each participant used the results of a personality profile test to learn about the unique perspective that each student brings to the class.
The future of Hardin County was a frequent topic of conversation during the retreat. Students discussed the major issues facing the county over the next 5 years and what steps should be taken to address them. Selecting a class project that could make a positive impact on the community was emphasized. Many options were addressed and the class will continue to hone in on a specific project to complete during the next few sessions.
The 2013 Leadership Hardin County Class landed at Rough River State Park in early September with the normal questions and doubts of the unknown. Those quickly disappeared. The group became very comfortable with each other after a couple of ice-breaker and introductory activities.
Kenny Rambo, a workforce trainer from Elizabethtown Community & Technical College, did a wonderful job of leading us through the weekend. Our first session was on building community and the aspects of success that our communities have achieved throughout the centuries.
Beth Roberts, a workforce transitions coordinator at ECTC, walked us through the Meyers-Briggs test. We had all taken the test several weeks before-hand and Beth shared the results with us. We dissected them and determined what personality types we each have and how well we will work together over the course of the next year.
Ethics in the current age and the future of our county were among the next topics we discussed. Saturday’s meeting focused a lot on the criteria and the thought patterns to use for choosing our class project.
One of the most important ingredients of the weekend was the food! The restaurant at Rough River is amazing. None of us were ever hungry. Another key piece of the weekend was the people who guided us through it. Kenny, Beth, Helen Miles & Brad Richardson from the Hardin Co. Chamber of Commerce, Anthony Conder from the Cecilian Bank and Jim and Mary Roberts were absolutely super!
We all left the weekend with endearing friendships and knowing the next year will be fun-filled. We’re looking forward to growing, learning, sharing and giving back to our community together. This is a wonderful group of people.
Our group is diverse, yet unifying and hopeful, yet realistic. We left Rough River determined to make Hardin County Kentucky a stronger place. I promise we will!
About the Authors:
Cameron Brown is a Vice President & Trust Officer at First Citizens Bank. The Bank is located at 425 W. Dixie Ave. in Elizabethtown, KY. Cameron can be contacted at 270.769.2301 or cbrown@first-citizens.com.
John Wright is the Director of Public Relations for Hardin County Schools. He works at the Board of Education building located at 65 W.A. Jenkins Road in Elizabethtown, KY. You can reach John at 270-769-8867 or john.wright@hardin.kyschools.us.