Horizons Fall 2017
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California Agricultural Leadership Foundation Magazine hori zonsFALL 2017 AG LEADERSHIP AWARDS Recognizing Outstanding Leaders We grow leaders who make a difference. CHAIR MESSAGE Major points of discussion at the retreat will include the following. 1. To ensure that we are continually improving California Agricultural Leadership Foundation Magazine the program. The board will work closely with the CALF Education Team to see that FALL 2017 • www.agleaders.org it is provided with the resources and support necessary for improvement. 2. To reach our fundraising goals. One of COVER STORY our topics will be the implementation of the Profiles in Leadership Awardees Honored Fellowship Sponsor. This new sponsorship 7 category will allow a company or individual to FEATURES sponsor a fellow through the program. LEADERSHIP IS GENEROUS 5 Leadership Focus by Dr. Michael Thomas 3. Move beyond our mission statement, “We 10 Class 48 Profiles BY JEFF ELDER (35) grow leaders who make a difference,” to our CALF BOARD OF DIRECTORS vision statement, “California agricultural 14 Alumni Spotlight: Women of Class 7 leaders united as a catalyst for a vibrant 17 California Exchange It was a Wonderful summer. industry.” This can only be accomplished with further contact with not only our Alumni 19 Alumni Council Update As you may have heard, the foundation received Council, but also by connecting with those an extraordinary and generous pledge of support alumni who have drifted away from the program. DEPARTMENTS from Stewart and Lynda Resnick, co-owners of 2 Chair Message the Wonderful Company, in the amount of $2.5 I’m expecting some great discussions and million. This pledge will result in the creation outcomes from this planning seminar to help 2 Calendar of Events of the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Wonderful guide us for the next half decade. 3 Foundation Message Legacy Fund. A pledge of this magnitude from two true visionaries and icons of the agricultural And again, a sincere and heartfelt thank you 4 Foundation News industry further confirms to me a shared to Mr. and Mrs. Resnick, The Wonderful 20 Alumni Events realization within the agricultural community Company and those wonderful board of the value and need for the California members who have served this organization 22 Alumni & Fellows News Agricultural Leadership Program. From all of us so well and have communicated the value and 23 Donor Recognition who have benefitted so much from the program, vision of the organization, both internally and you have our deepest gratitude. within the industry. Read more about the Wonderful Legacy Fund and This gift in no small way pushes us closer Fellowship Sponsors on page 4. to realizing our goal of $25 million in CALENDAR endowments. The personal goal I’ve set for CALF BOARD OF DIRECTORS myself is to have the endowment funded or Chair / Jeff Elder November Vice Chair / Jim Maxwell 1 Region 4 Winter Social, Modesto pledged to the $25 million mark before the Secretary - Treasurer / Eugene Peterson graduation of our 50th class. I’m hopeful and Immediate Past Chair / Loren Booth 2-16 Class 47 International Seminar, Morocco, Spain confident that the commitment from Mr. and Karm Bains and Gibraltar Rick Burnes 3 Dean Brown Golf Tournament, Santa Maria Mrs. Resnick will motivate other individuals Edwin Camp Karen Caplan 8-9 Board of Directors Strategic Retreat, Avila Beach and companies to step up their support for Bob Cherenson 9-11 Class 48 Seminar, San Luis Obispo CALF and help make that goal a reality. Helene Dillard Michael Hollister 10 Veterans Day, CALF Office Closed Ejnar Knudsen 23-24 Thanksgiving Holiday, CALF Office Closed Starting in 2010, the CALF board created and Mike Mendes implemented a strategic plan. This plan was the Mike Young December cornerstone from which the program and the CALF STAFF 6-8 Class 48 Seminar, Davis foundation have been re-erected. The time has President / Barry Bedwell Director of Education / Dr. Michael Thomas 22-25 Christmas Holiday, CALF Office Closed come for the board, with many new members, Program Advisor / Dr. Charlie Crabb to put on our visionary hats and develop a Financial Manager / Sharon Harney Judy Sparacino Program Coordinator / January new blueprint. This winter, we will reconvene Enterprise Coordinator / Emily Lazzerini 1 New Year’s Day, CALF Office Closed for another two-day session to update our WRITER/EDITOR strategic plan. The venue and the professional Liza Teixeira Robertson 8-10 Class 47 Seminar, Pomona CONTRIBUTING WRITER/EDITOR 10-12 Class 48 Seminar, Pomona facilitation have generously been donated by Meredith Rehrman Ritchie board member Ejnar Knudsen. DESIGNER TMDcreative For staff email addresses, visit 2 www.agleaders.org/about/foundation_staff HORIZONS MAGAZINE FALL 2017 FOUNDATION MESSAGE FIT AND BALANCE BY BARRY BEDWELL (13), CALF PRESIDENT ...AS I HAVE OFTEN POINTED OUT, I WAS ONE OF THOSE CANDIDATES WHO WAS UNSUCCESSFUL THE FIRST TIME AROUND – AND I WAS SO GLAD By the time this edition of Horizons arrives in your mailbox, we will be THAT I TRIED AGAIN. well into the fall season and the days, as well as the temperatures, will be changing rapidly. Hopefully, harvest for many of California’s more than 400 crops and commodities will have been completed successfully and most importantly, profitably. A large number of growers and processors will be looking to take a respite from the hectic days and nights of the season before their thoughts turn toward the upcoming crop year when the process begins once again to repeat itself. The decisions that are made then are less about fitness for the For Ag Leadership, the new “crop” has already begun with Class 48 program and more about the fit and balance. All of the candidates fellows going through their inaugural seminar in Clovis during the reviewed at that last session are qualified. The final selections become second week of October. The new fellows were not only introduced to more about the make-up of the class of adult learners and how the the curriculum that “grows leaders who make a difference,” but also to various individuals balance. The outcome focuses on the perceived each other. Much like any first day of school, there was an amount of contributions individuals can make to the total learning experience, nervousness that was readily apparent among the 24 fellows as they got both for themselves and others. to know their classmates. For many, the question as to how and why they became members of Class 48 certainly crossed their mind. They Invariably, there are capable applicants who are not ultimately will soon understand, if not already, that the process does not happen recommended for inclusion in a particular class and the efforts of by chance. faculty and staff are then directed to encouraging those individuals to stay enthusiastic about Ag Leadership and to reapply in the future. The spring and summer of 2017 brought an exceptionally large number And as I have often pointed out, I was one of those candidates who was of applicants for the Ag Leadership Program. This was due, in large unsuccessful the first time around – and I was so glad that I tried again. part, to the very positive perception of the value of what the program offers, which in turn is owing to the outstanding work of the CALF In the final analysis, classes come together with much thought due to director of education and the core faculty members as it relates to the those aforementioned devoted alumni. We are extremely grateful for curriculum and its presentation. The result was that, in summary, there their work in helping grow leaders to benefit California agriculture. were certainly many more qualified candidates seeking participation in Each individual in Class 48, as well as all those fellows who preceded Class 48 than the 24 slots that were available. them, should therefore take comfort that they were definitely selected for the right reasons and now is the time for them to grow into those So, how does a class come together? In short, a class is created through leaders who will make a difference. the experience, knowledge and judgement of dedicated alumni. This year, there were 10 interview sites spread around the state, each with four to six alumni who listened, asked questions and otherwise evaluated each candidate to determine which individuals should be passed on to the final selection process. During that last process, usually two alumni representatives from each interview site then discuss all candidates with the goal of putting together a class that “fits” well. 3 FALL 2017 HORIZONS MAGAZINE FOUNDATION NEWS CALF ANNOUNCES NEW DONOR Stewart and Lynda Resnick CATEGORY: FELLOWSHIP SPONSORS Wonderful Legacy Fund The board of directors of the California Ag Leadership Foundation have Stewart and Lynda Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company, approved the creation of a new donor category that will be identified as have pledged $2.5 million for the creation of an endowment fund to a Fellowship Sponsor. The idea of investing in leadership development is benefit the California Ag Leadership Program. not new. Many companies, organizations and individuals have invested tremendously in the foundation’s programs. However, in an effort to Chairman of CALF’s board of directors, Jeff Elder, said the pledge, broaden the support base and to secure a more stable source of revenue which will be paid over the course of five years, will result in the to cover operating costs, the foundation has agreed on a model for formation of the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Wonderful Legacy giving that will not only benefit the foundation but also appropriately Fund. It is patterned after the existing JG Boswell II Legacy Fund and recognize the donor and their value to the foundation’s mission.