ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 9, 2010) —
From Tom Marquardt, LAA President

Dear fellow graduates,

This is the first of what I hope to be several updates to keep you posted about Leadership Anne Arundel's governance. Your board and its president have been actively involved in moving LAA forward.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

On a sad note, Executive Director Patrick Lee has announced his intentions to leave his position sometime in the next 7 months. Patrick's involvement in LAA is deep. Besides being a 2002 graduate of Flagship, he volunteered long hours before becoming LAA board president and eventually its permanent executive director in 2009 after serving as interim director. His tireless work was recognized by an award created in 2005 to applaud the volunteer efforts of others. As one of many people who have worked beside Patrick for a long time, I can attest to his devotion to this organization and the herculean effort he has given to keep it together in trying times. I hope you join me in expressing your gratitude.

Patrick has expressed his thoughts about the decision in the attachment accompanying this email. Patrick is still the executive director and you should continue to direct your questions to him.

NLA RETURNS!

On a more positive note, the Neighborhood Leadership Academy will return this fall, thanks to an incredible volunteer effort lead by Tatiana Johanning, chair of the steering committee. The program was temporarily suspended by the board after the LAA staff was reduced and budget issues arose. However, several people saw the void that was left in the community and have been volunteering long hours to restore the program. The program would not exist without their effort and without a new $3,000 contribution from Northrop Grumman.

The board approved the committee's request to move forward with the program.

The committee putting this together includes John Fullmer, Maggie Griffin-Synowski, Tad Wood, Janice Hayes-Williams, Jackie Colestock and Bill Kuethe. They have a great program set up and are hoping to have 15 participants who will only pay a modest application fee.

FUND-RAISING EFFORTS ARE STRONG

I have joined Development Director Kathy Nieberding Temprine on several calls to area business leaders in hope of securing more contributions to keep the organization fiscally sound. I have grown to appreciate her professionalism and so have business leaders. She secured a record 27 sponsors with the highest total contributions in LAA's history for this year's Tribute celebration. Fund-raising efforts have not stopped this summer and I'm pleased to report Kathy's successes have put us in a much stronger position. With the recent $10,000 contribution by Greenberg Gibbons Commercial and $7,500 total from Northrop Grumman, we welcomed two new Leadership Partners too. Despite the economy, we are gaining strength and powerful momentum each month.

If you haven't signed up for Ken Upton's July 20 dinner at his house, please do so now. Tickets are limited and are now being sold to the general community. Information is on LAA's web site. I hope to see you there!

THE BUDGET

We have finalized our budget for the 2011 fiscal year and challenges remain. We have considerable debt from a Knott Foundation loan, a bank loan, copier and credit card that will require us to be pennywise over the next year. We hope to be able to hire a part-timer in early 2011 to help with the office chores, and we also are looking for ways to reduce our office rent.

FLAGSHIP

Recruitment for the next Flagship class continues. If you know of anyone who is interested, please encourage them to apply now. This is how you can most help LAA!

CC4E

The Chesapeake Center for Excellence is well under way in its efforts to analyze our organizational structure and help guide us into the future. Perhaps you have been one of the many people its staff has interviewed in recent weeks or perhaps you have participated in one of its focus groups. I've been told that the group is getting valuable insight – thanks to everyone who has shared their candid thoughts with them. This is a significant project for LAA's future.

BOARD LEADERSHIP

It is an honor to be chosen by your board to be president of such an impressive group. I have chosen Tim O'Ferrall (Flagship 2002) to be vice president. The remaining officers of the executive committee will be chosen in the next couple of weeks. Maura Walden, chair of the governance committee, is responsible for this effort and also will be recommending to the board candidates who have expressed interest in joining the board of directors.

If you have any suggestions about how to make this organization better, please drop me an email. Many of you have already given me ideas – thank you.