The Luckett List

LE Graduation -Madison Club
August 16, 2013
(Josh Erickson, Mary Vertacic and me
our little candles to light the way)

Be engaged, ask questions if you have them, take ownership of your progress. The 2013 Loaned Executive class graduated last Friday after 2+ weeks of the most thoughtful, well run training in the area.  Despite the 'fire hose' of information the United Way staff tackled every aspect we'd need to be successful.  They were skilled at exposing us to unfamiliar ideas, giving us a chance to practice and get feedback on particular techniques and encouraged us all along the way! 

"So What Happened...?"  Shel Ellengstad, Community Leader, has been a certified Dale Carnegie Course instructor for 25 years, performs 40-60 hours of live TV and a legend in the ranks of Former Loaned Executives (FLE's).  We started the week with Shel and public speaking training.  Apparently, public speaking training is fun and not the least bit stressful.  Our assignments; come prepared with 3 topics and 'brief notes'.  Brutal. I guess I've been in the corporate world too long because every speech I remember starts something like..."When we were doing this, than that happened, which resulted in X."  EENT!  NO!  Completely wrong.  I will forever have ingrained in my mind Shel saying to each of us, "So what happened?" basically, get to why someone would be interested in the story and not a lot of blathering about this and that.  

A guest panel including Ellis Ragland, 100 Black Men and Sun Prairie School Superintendent, Tim Culver talked with the LE's about initiatives aimed as students succeeding academically and graduating from high school, regardless of race. We learned about the United Way's School of Hope which is helping close the achievement gap in Dane County.  Its mission is to work with school staff to increase the academic performance of students of color and those from low-income families.  

Campaign Chair, Doug Nelson, Regional President, BMO Harris Bank spent a good portion of his week with the LE's holding an open Q & A session, leading the Cabinet Meeting and speaking at the LE graduation.  

Investment decisions needed to be made by the group.  We had a small budget and several grant requests.  Our mission, determine which requests would be awarded available funding. All requests came in writing and the agency prepared a face/face presentation.  It's so much easier to make decisions when there isn't a human element and you're not sitting across from someone that is passionate about the work they do. 

The completion of a course of academic study. [Answered in Jeopardy format] What is graduation.  A graduation test in the form of a Jeopardy Game provided a light-hearted final exam.  Team "My Little Pony" had some issues with our buzzer otherwise we would have been in first place, I'm sure.

Final Exam Jeopardy with Deedra Atkinson

Joe with our game buzzer! 

Jane and Renea provide another correct answer!

Finally back to the Madison Club for graduation day, where we all started.  The room was noticeably louder and with all our sponsors in attendance there was a lot of excitement in the room! After the ceremony we were whisked off to the LE "Suite" to see where we'd be working during the campaign and who our cube-mates would be.
Congratulations to my fellow LE's!  

2013 LE Graduating Class
August 17, 2013

 Our 'LE Mom", Dani Luckett gave us her Luckett List of Big Ideas From Training:

• You are composing a good world.
• Inspire organizational leaders.
• People give to people.
• Be thoughtful and creative.
• Be a proactive and responsive partner with your campaign teams.
• Demonstrate credibility, take time to understand a different perspective and you will earn trust.

The best cube farm row every assembled!

Choose to be Amazing

Wolverine from the X Men or a 2013 LE?  You decide~

Superheros are amazing! What's better than one Superhero? A whole group of them!  X-Men, Justice League, The Fantastic Four, Avengers, etc. Did anyone else over the age of 40 know that that superheros are cool and popular?  Somewhere along the line, around the 'mom jeans era', I dropped out of the cool and popular culture.  Part of an icebreaker this week, our table had to draw a team of Superheros and we learned that each of us has our own super power but together we have the ability to give our community an amazing gift! 

What is the most meaningful, amazing, powerful, gift you've ever given or received?  For me it's diaries that I kept for each of my kids.  I think the notebooks were .25 at WalMart and I wrote monthly stories something significant that happened.  The night before their high school graduation I placed a bow around the books and left them on their pillows.  The last pages in the book said how proud we were of them and how the remaining blank pages were there for them to fill in however they decided to write the future.  How a .25 notebook could be so memorable. The power of the simple things and the joy they represent.  

This week we had a release from prison simulation with the Madison Urban Ministry (MUM). MUM utilizes groups of volunteers to meet weekly with someone newly released from prison and help them navigate the demands and challenges of life outside prison. The Journey Home initiative is recognized for decreasing the recidivism (individuals returning to prison) rate in Dane County and they've seen remarkably low return to prison rates. During the simulation, we were each given a prisoner identity, profile and instructions on how we needed to reintegrate into the community.  My new identity... Donald Gordon, in prison for 10 years for armed robbery, I had a drug and alcohol problem and children.  I was released with $100, no identification, some travel vouchers and court orders.  MUM had simulation stations covering residency, employment, treatment and support set up around the room that we needed to navigate..WHAT CHAOS! I struggled to find employment, housing, get to treatment and pay child support (which landed me back in prison).  The system is complicated, hard to navigate and there wasn't enough people or resources to help.  Without the generosity of the non-profit stations, I would not have had housing, food or clothing during the entire simulation. Even with the non-profit support I ended the simulation without shelter, I hadn't been able to get to rehab in weeks, no job and homeless.

Docfreeman712. We met Joseph Frey a wrongfully convicted man that was just released from the Winnebago County jail on July 12th, for the first time in 20 years. The Wisconsin Innocence Project helped prove his innocence with new DNA evidence.  The fact of the matter is that he was released with nothing.  Because he was innocent and not on parole, he had no support from the justice system, no money, no shelter, no medications.  This story is so interesting that we're thinking about doing a freelance documentary. Stay tuned!

The action packed week highlights:

• Role play of an Employee Campaign Manager (ECM) meeting with Former Loaned Executives, Mary Vertacic (AMFAM) and Tom Galante, Mid-West Family Broadcasting.  It's not as easy as it looks!  Which I learned when it was my turn to role play an ECM meeting.  Didn't even get through all the materials...!  

  

  Former Loaned Executives Role Play ECM Call
  (L-R:  Mary Vertacic, Laura Zibell, Josh Erickson, Tom Galante)

• Our division assignments were announced.  Josh and I will be working with Insurance/Finance portfolio. Insurance/Finance is one of nine divisions that make up the United Way of Dane County Annual Campaign.  Along with our Portfolio Manager, Maggie Molter and another team member Renee Sigal from UW Credit Union, we will manage approximately 76 accounts and be responsible for about 25% of this years total campaign dollars.

  

  Insurance/Finance PM, Maggie Molter

• The site visit this week, Center for Families.  A resource for parenting, information and support. They offer programs that enhance parenting skills, promote understanding of child development and promote safety.  An amazing place that promotes positive change for families in the community!

Center for Families-Site Visit
August 7

• Leslie Ann Howard, United Way of Dane County President & CEO held a Q & A session. For almost an hour and a half, she shared personal stories about herself, her dedication to United Way and changes in the community.  She is a remarkable woman with a remarkable dedication to Dane County!  Leslie's vision for the organization is being played out now with the Agenda for Change that focuses on the areas of Health, Education and Safety. Take Action-Change Lives!

Leslie Ann Howard, UWDC President and CEO

Next week...public speaking training (shutter)!  You'd want the opportunity, wouldn't you?
My homework assignment is to come prepared to speak to the class about:  

1.  A story that happened to me when I was a child.  I have 60 seconds to share a fun story. 

2.  Something that happened to me and taught me an important lesson. 90 seconds.

3.  A United Way success story I witnessed. 2 minutes.

I won't sleep a wink...;)

What Would You Do With A Million Dollars?

In preparation for winning the lottery I have spent a lot of time on listing names of individuals that will share in my good fortune. The list is grouped in 'flights'.  Here's the Flight List:

Flight 1:  My kids
Flight 2:  Family members
Flight 3:  Select friends

It's no fun to have money if your family and friends aren't there to enjoy it too and until last week I was perfectly content with my Flight List .  I've just been waiting for the news of my inevitable lottery winnings.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Loaned Executive (LE) training started last week! To be honest, it was a little like anticipating the first day of a new school year.  (Yes, I did buy a new outfit.)  All the training is taking place at the United Way of Dane County building on Atwood Avenue. The familiar faces of United Way staff where on-hand to greet us and I was thankful for the previous networking events that allowed the LE's to meet the staff and fellow LE's before Day 1. 

Day 1 Highlights:  Building Tour, History of Philanthropy, How LE's fit into the campaign,  introduction to the Agenda for Change and a Connections exercise aimed at getting to know our fellow LE's.

Day 2 Highlights:   An energy charged Brand presentation by the United Way Marketing team, team photos, introduction to Leadership Giving and our first trip to one of the agencies, Community Action Coalition and the scary and much discussed Agenda for Change Data Walls.

Day 3 Highlights:  Campaign Strategies, Divisions and Overview Rosenberry Society.

First Agency Visit

Community Action Coalition Visit
August 1, 2013

Community Action Coalition (CAC) is located just off HWY 51.  I had never heard of CAC and, despite spending 'some' time at Sports Pub and Lazy Olf, had no idea the building even existed.  Some people know CAC for their housing assistance and Koats for Kids campaign.  We learned that it's much, much more...

Poverty Stops Here is the recently adopted new slogan for the agency, Greta Hansen, Executive Director, shared. For many individuals and families poverty does end here as help from CAC can make a critical difference with clothing, food from the food pantry, rental assistance, community gardens, eviction prevention and case management. CAC distributes approximately three million pounds of perishable and non-perishable food. In 2012, there where 824,712 individual visits at the food pantries and meal sites served by CAC and 142,000 pounds of fresh food donated.  Greta told us that in addition to individual food donations, vendors from the Madison area Farmers Market regularly donate food to CAC. 

The staff at CAC that we met and the stories of their individual effort to end poverty and make a difference in the community were amazing. We heard about how it's not unusual to find a homeless individual sleeping around or near the building, making shelter out of the food pallets or shrubs.  How CAC case workers juggle 40-60 families in need of family support, food and housing. It is clear that the staff is passionate about the work they do and the services they provide. 

Sooo.. about that Flight List...officially adding a 4th flight to cover philanthropy in the form of an unrestricted gift to the United Way.