Class members on the terrace at the Valleybrook Country Club
Session #1 Orientation
The Orientation session was held on August 26, 2005 at the Valleybrook Country Club in McMurray, PA.  
  • The class was welcomed by LWC Board President Liza Beale
  •  Washington County Commissioner J. Bracken Burns led the class through his History and
    Interesting Facts of Washington County multi-media presentation.  
  • "Who Am I?" Icebreaker with class members
  • Jeff Kotula, Executive Director of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce explained the
    relationship between the Chamber and Leadership Washington County.
  • Expectations and commitments were explained to the class and commitment agreements were
    signed
  • The class participated in a small team bridge building activity with all bridges judged structurally
    sound by LWC's resident engineer Chris Wheat.
  • Class Project Teams were assigned by Class Liaisons Julie Jindra and Chris Wheat.
Session #2-Leadership in a Changing Society
This session was planned by Lee Young and Lucinda Robbins
from the Penn State Cooperative Extension Service and was
held on September 20, 2005 at the Buffalo Township Municipal
Building.
  • Don Angelone from the University of Pittsburgh's School
    of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences addressed the
    class about the changing qualities of a desirable leader.
  • Lee and Lucinda gave the class a multi-media
    presentation of the socio-economic demographics of
    Washington County.
  • Peggi Fawcett from Transitional Employment
    Consultants spoke with the class about identifying
    personality traits in others and adapting communication
    styles to suit those traits.
  • The class participated in a small group activity and the
    entire class participated in a life-boat exercise.
Session #3-Goverment and Politics
This session was planned by Norma Wintermyer representing the League of Women Voters of
Washington County and was held on October 18, 2005 at Falconi Field, home of the minor-league
Washington Wild Things baseball team.
  • A representative of the Washington County Long Range Planning team spoke to the class about
    avoiding/dealing with conflict among numerous stakeholders in the planning process.
  • Lew Villotti of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission gave the class the opportunity to participate
    in the interactive Project Region Survey.
  • Class members discussed the roles of various local and county elected offices.
  • Norma Wintermyer explained the role of the League of Women Voters in the political process.
  • Class members were given a tour of Falconi Field by Chris Blaine, marketing director for the
    Washington Wild Things.
Session #4-Business and Economic Development
This session was held on November 15, 2005 and was planned by Jeff
Kotula, Executive Director of the Washington County Chamber of
Commerce.  
  • The day began at PA Transformer Technology with a welcome
    and plant tour by Dennis Blake.
  • Ron Maloney from the PA Regional Alliance spoke about
    regional marketing efforts.
  • A working lunch was held at the Southpointe Golf Club with Dr.
    Jerry Paytas from Carnegie Mellon University's Economic
    Development Dept. as the speaker.
  • Mary Stollar from the Washington County Chamber of
    Commerce briefed the class on planned marketing efforts for
    Washington County.
  • The class divided into project groups to compose their own
    marketing plans for Washington County.
Jeff Kotula lists marketing ideas from the class.
Session #5- The Justice System
This session was held on December 13, 2005 and was planned  by the
Washington County Bar Association's Community Education
Committee.   
  • The class observed Motion's Court in Judge O'Dell Seneca's
    courtroom.
  • Tours were given of the Washington County Family Court Center
    and Washington County Correctional Facility.
  • A mock trial was led by Attorney Mark Geary.
  • A worker's compensation mock trial was led by PA Worker's
    Compensation Judge Eric Jones.

Special thanks to the Washington County Bar Association for
underwriting this session.
Washington County's President Judge Debbie O'Dell
Seneca addresses the class during lunch at the
Justice System Session.
Session #6 - Educational System Session
California University of Pennsylvania' Southpointe Center
hosted this session on January 17, 2006 with Ellie Nesser
as session planner.
Highlights included:
  • An overview of the WAN that Intermediate Unit One is
    installing in area school districts with Dr. Lawrence
    O'Shea
  • A presentation about educational funding in the state
    from Ron Cowell of the Educational Funding Policy
    Center
  • Round table discussions of technology in education
  • Presentations from several post-graduate programs
    available in Washington County
  • Educational software and technology demonstration
    from Steve Nesser of Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Class members participate in round table discussions.
Session #7-Quality of Life
The session was held on February 21, 2006 at the Iceoplex at
Southpointe.  Alice Bonim, LWC Board Member,  planned the
session with assistance from Liza Beale and Judi Smith.  
  • Dennis Allison, General Manager of the Iceoplex, conducted a
    tour for the class and spoke about the history of the facility.
  • Mark Tallerico of the Washington County Tourism Promotion
    Agency did a tourism presentation.
  • Sandee Umbach of the Washington Community Arts and
    Cultural Center (Wash Arts) spoke about the history of the
    non-profit community arts center that she founded.
  • The class participated in art lessons and activities including
    pottery, bead work, creative movement and beginning ice
    skating.
  • The afternoon included a custom-written murder mystery with
    class members acting in assigned roles.
Special thanks to Campbell Insurance Associates for underwriting
Wash Arts instructors and materials  for this session.
Class members In costume for Murder Mystery
"Bump the Trump"
Session #8-Health and Human Services
Monongahela Valley Hospital hosted this session on March 21,
2006 with Paula Bassi, RN, MSN as session planner.
  • Richard Boland and Robert Fonte delivered a presentation
    about Emergency Preparedness and First Responders.
  • Shirley Fierro briefed the class on the Washington City
    Mission and its vital work in the community.
  • Leslie Grenfell from Southwestern PA Human Services
    explained some of the challenges involved with the local
    aging population.
  • Daniel Simmons and Scott McCorkle from Mon Valley
    Hospital involved the class in a dramatic interactive
    demonstration of the changing health care environment.

Special thanks to Monongahela Valley Hospital for sponsoring
this session on a continuing basis.
The class in costume for the interactive demonstration of
the challenges in the health care industry.
Session #9-Community Leadership
This is the capstone session of the LWC program.  The session was held
at California University's Southpointe Center on April 18, 2006, and was
planned by  Michael Chaido, LWC Board Member.
  • The class participated in round table discussions with Richard
    Mahoney of the Washington Hospital Foundation; Darlene Bigler,
    Executive Director of Community Action Southwest; John Campbell,
    respected Washington County businessman and philanthropist;
    and, Dr. Stephanie Urchick, Director of CalU's Southpointe Center
    and a dedicated member of Rotary International.  These
    discussions included the role of volunteers, issues dealing with
    non-profit fundraising, the responsibilities of non-profit
    organization's board members, and the satisfaction of serving your
    community.
Richard Mahoney and Darlene Bigler speak with
the class about community involvement and board
responsibilities.
Leadership Washington County
20 East Beau Street   Washington,  PA  15301  
Phone 724-225-3010
Leadership Washington County's United Way Donor Choice Option number is
1356034
Session Planner Lucinda Robbins listens
to class member Tom Domke.
LWC Class 6 Recap