Class of 2023 Opening Retreat

September 9 & 10, 2022, Seabeck Conference Center, Seabeck

Doug Berger, Founder

The Leadership Kitsap Class of 2023 began their curriculum year with an overnight retreat at the Seabeck Conference Center in the new The Pines building on September 9th and 10th 2022. Day one focused on leadership development and day two focused on becoming a team. Doug Berger, Senior Vice President and founding partner of The Cascade Group at Morgan Stanley, and Leadership Kitsap’s Founding President, kicked off the retreat with the inspiring history of Leadership Kitsap and reflection on servant leadership.

Lowell Sweet (LK04)

Prior to the Retreat, class members took the StrengthsFinders 2.0 and Jung Typology assessments, as a self-awareness exercise to identify their top five strengths and preferences for dealing with and relating to people, processing information, and making decisions. The morning included a debrief of the assessment results as well as an introduction of Leadership Kitsap’s core curriculum Positive Leadership led by Lowell Sweet (LK04).

Jennifer Yeaman (LK11)

Most of the afternoon was dedicated to Orangreenia, a diversity simulation exercise led by Sarah Chamberlin (LK20), followed by a discussion facilitated by Certified Diversity and Process Improvement Professional Jennifer Yeaman (LK11). Themes of identity, culture, and power were discussed and how the simulation experience parallels experiences in our community. The evening was capped off with a “fireside chat” ice cream social led by Jeffrey Menge (LK17) to discover more about each other’s leadership journey.

The second day of the retreat was focused on community service project development. Project Co-Chair Jay Reynolds (LK22) reviewed project guidelines, processes, and expectations as well as shared his reflection from experiences the year prior. Several past projects were highlighted. The teams then brainstormed project possibilities and bounced ideas off one other and Board members.

Everyone left the retreat feeling inspired, energized, and ready to serve!

Thank you to our two-day professional development retreat sponsor Town & Country Markets.

Presenters: Doug Berger (LK Founding President), Sarah Chamberlin (LK20), Jay Reynolds (LK22), Jeffrey Menge (LK17), Ashley Oaksmith (LK16), Lowell Sweet (L04), Katie Walters (LK14), and Jennifer Yeaman (LK11).

Organizers: Sarah Chamberlin, Jay Reynolds, Alex Hardy, Jeffrey Menge, Lowell Sweet, Dedra Miller, Ashley Oaksmith, Katie Walters, Carli Meurs