Celebrating Successes!
The 2021-2022 Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) topic for May was “Celebrating Successes.”
Reedsburg, WI – The 2021-2022 SCIL class was hosted by the Wormfarm Institute where the class met for its ninth and final day-long session prior to next week’s SCIL graduation.
The theme for the day was “Celebrating Successes.”
The first presentation was by our hosts, Donna Neuwirth and Jay Salinas, co-founders of the Wormfarm Institute. Donna and Jay shared their story of relocating from Chicago, IL to Reedsburg, WI to establish the Wormfarm Institute, whose mission has evolved over the years through many successes, as well as failures. Their leadership in the community strives to create connections between Rural and Urban neighbors through art, food, and the land. They host resident artists on their rural farm, and organize community events such as Fermentation Fest, as well as the Farm/Art DTour. The Farm/Art DTour is a unique collaboration between artists and local landowners throughout Sauk County. This collaboration creates unique and temporary art installations along a 50 plus mile loop through Sauk County and brings tens of thousands of visitors to Sauk County each year.
The next Farm/Art DTour is set for October 1-10, 2022.
The next discussion topic was “Board Boot Camp” – This session focused on nonprofit boards, as well as touching on leadership in city government through boards and commissions. This discussion was facilitated by Tim Becker, Reedsburg City Administrator; Greg Wise, a veteran of multiple nonprofit boards; and Robin Whyte, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of South Central Wisconsin. The group discussed the importance of being on various boards, the challenges and rewards that come with it, and the leadership qualities it takes to fill these roles.
Next, the SCIL class spent time reflecting and sharing as a group what resonated with each of us in our past eight sessions, this was an after action review of all we’ve learned over the past 8 mos.
Finally, we heard from Mr. Cliff Thompson, Interim SuperIntendent with Barneveld Schools.
Mr. Thomson’s visit was a way to ‘close the loop’ on this year’s class, as Mr. Thompson spoke at our first session in September 2021. It was with his encouragement and enthusiasm we embarked on our SCIL leadership journey. Mr. Thompson returned to celebrate with us and emphasized how when we as leaders grow others, we also grow.
By Tim Ripp and Karen Peterson
