Mar 15, 2016 3 min read

Since 1998, when the Greater Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the United Way partnered together to bring Leadership Washington County to our area, potential leaders have been prepared by a rich curriculum. Each new class has worked its way through the experience of the sessions to become more actively involved in leadership through their employment or in their spare time to help make Washington County a better place for all.

Approximately 230 community business leaders have completed the curriculum since the program began.

“Many of these leaders have been invited to participate as board members on nonprofit boards and have used their skills and talents to help guide these organizations forward,” Katie Unger-Chipps, the executive director of Leadership Washington County, said.

One of the most difficult things nonprofits must do is recruit new board members to serve.

Unger-Chipps said the LWC program helps make board recruitment easier by including an introduction to board membership responsibilities, structure and practices of nonprofit boards throughout class sessions.

The current leadership class for 2015-16 includes Stephanie Wagoner, a marketing specialist from Washington Health System. Wagoner said that the current class of 17 is broken up into three teams; each working on the same community project, but each is participating in different ways.

“Each group is working to raise money and food for the Greater Washington County Food Bank which serves over 5,000 in the county. By participating in Kids Fest on Saturday, March 19 at Washington Crown Center, my team is hoping to raise a lot of food and money to benefit the food bank,” Wagoner said.

Wagoner’s team is comprised of six members; Jodi Lignelli from the Mon Valley YMCA; Patrick Fazzini from Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart P.C. law firm; Jacob Lippert from Washington Financial; Jamie Yancich from the Washington County

Law Library; and Chris Watters from Community Action Southwest.

In addition to Kids Fest, Wagoner’s team is also working with the Washington Wild Things for their season opener on May 20. Half of the proceeds from online ticket sales will be donated to the food bank.

Wagoner stressed that everyone’s help is needed .

“According to the food bank, one in five children in Washington County is considered food insecure,” Wagoner said.

To track the competition among the three leadership teams and see what each team is doing to raise food and funds, visit the Leadership Washington County Facebook page at facebook.com/LeadershipWashingtonCountyofPA . The teams hope to raise $25,000 and 25,000 pounds of food for the food bank.

Community projects and involvement are key components of the Leadership Washington County experience.

For more information on how to participate in Leadership Washington County in the future, visit their website at www.palwc.org or e-mail Katie Unger-Chipps at katie@palwc.org.