I am a Leadership Gilroy Graduate , and PROUD !
Terri Aulman , Gilroy City Council Member , Keynote Speaker ( left ) Leadership Gilroy Class of 2014 ( l-r ): Paul Nadeau , Alex Villalobos , Jason Raby , Sue Martin , Vicky Martin , Jessica Suarez Short , Michael Johnson , Vikki O ’ Hara , Anne Bittner , Scott Otteson , Whitney Pintello , and Carlos Pineda . Not pictured were Eduardo Cervantes , David Jewell , and Raquel Bonino .
On
October 17 , 2014 , the Class of 2014 celebrated our graduation at Gilroy Gardens . Surrounded by our family and friends and past graduates of the Leadership Gilroy program , we enjoyed the well wishes of Mayor Don Gage and of our keynote speaker , City Council Member Terri Aulman . They both challenged us to answer “ Now what ? What do we do with our new leadership skills and experience ?”
I am the first to admit that my first impressions of this class were maybe more social than educational and that I wasn ’ t sure if the material would feel like anything I hadn ’ t learned before in another professional training . It certainly could have been just that if it weren ’ t for the great mix of people that got thrown together into the class project . Our classmates were passionate about Spokes 4 Folks , about serving folks in need by providing bicycles . For many of us , I think we were surprised at how strongly we felt and how much we had to give to the cause . Seeing this project bring out such strength and ingenuity in my classmates , seeing what were once strangers become friends and bond over our trials and successes is what made this class for me . We accomplished something great and became friends in the process . Hopefully , our facilitators , Denise and Andrea , saw our newfound skills at work ! I ’ m happy to share that many of our classmates have taken new paths already , run for a non-profit board of directors , gone back to school , taken a new position . I think we each took something different from Leadership , but I ’ d like to think we all can still reach out and count on each other .
I hope you will consider what Leadership Gilroy could do for you . Maybe you have a friend you think would be a great candidate ? Check out www . leadershipgilroy . org for more information . Many of our candidates were already successful professionals in their field , but were looking for growth . Some were at a crossroads and needed inspiration . You never know , you might be a great addition to the Class of 2015 !
By Whitney Pintello
Whitney is a local artist whose paintings can be found at local wineries and restaurants , as well as the Gilroy Garlic Festival . With her family , she has enjoyed staging comedies at Pintello Comedy Theater in Gilroy for over 11 years .
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