Over the past four-plus decades, the Odessa Chamber of Commerce has held Leadership Odessa and on Aug. 22, they will host graduates of that group for a reception.
The Leadership Odessa Alumni reception is planned for 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Odessa Chamber, Suite 200, 700 N. Grant Ave.
Carla Hartwig, Events and Programs Specialist, said she expects about 200 attendees.
There are more than 1,200 graduates and the program is one of the longest-running in the state. The goal is to revive the Leadership Alumni group. Chamber President and CEO Renee Earls said the group existed back in the 1990s, but like other organizations, it “just kind of fizzled out.”
“The people who were involved in it moved on to other things, and so for whatever reason, it was dormant with the chamber. Then Laura (James), who was a graduate in 2021-22 and then the co-chair of this last year’s group is one person who had said” she wanted to have an alumni group again, Earls said.
Craig Stoker also talked about it.
“We gathered a few past chairs of Leadership Odessa to brainstorm what shape an alumni group might take. We knew we wanted to start with something social to remind our alumni what a fun and energetic community Leadership Odessa has created. We also wanted to use the reception as an opportunity to get feedback from our alumni about where they would like to see the program go,” said James, who was 2022-23 leadership co-chair.
James said in an email that she would love to create a network of past Leadership Odessa participants across the generations of leadership classes where those who graduate the program can feed into the Alumni group and have new opportunities to network and connect with leaders who share their passion for this community, whether that be through social activities, continued educational, volunteer or leadership opportunities.
She added that the biggest takeaway from Leadership Odessa is the people.
“The professional connections and friendships Leadership Odessa offers are truly special. So, when the program ends it is only natural for those involved to want to continue building on those relationships,” James said.
“This group will keep these leaders meaningfully involved in our community. Those who graduate from the program often have a new or renewed pride in Odessa, and this group will allow them to continue on that path while also finding new avenues to become involved and contribute to what makes Odessa so special,” she added.
They have some scholarships that pay half the fee, which is $1,000 for the nine-month program.
For nonprofits, that can be a hefty fee, so the chamber asks companies and donors to help support that so the nonprofit pays half and a donor pays half.
“We feel like that’s a great opportunity for leadership, alumni,” to support the program, Earls said.
Hartwig said they have seven nonprofits signed up this year, which is a record for one.
“That really helps out an organization. I was a graduate in ’92-93. It’s hard to believe. I was a very young 20-something at Medical Center starting out my marketing career there. The hospital has always been a wonderful advocate of getting their employees involved in the community, so I was one of many who was going through the program,” Earls said.
Although she was born and raised in Odessa, she found there was a lot to learn about the community.
“I would say that’s a big reason why I am in the role I am today with the chamber, because it was at that same time that I worked with the chamber on the Buy the Basin campaign that we kicked off. It was a wrap. At some time period. That’s probably how I got involved with the chamber as their leadership originally,” Earls said.
Companies put employees through the program. It starts with a reception where many of them might not know each other.
“They come here for an hour, hour and a half, and they do an icebreaker to just try to get to know each other well. Then by the weekend, they’re headed to Prude Ranch … and they spend the weekend together. They do a ropes course, which is a physical exercise, but it’s also a lot of mental.
“They ride a bus down there together. They have roommates, so they know each other a lot better in a very isolated area for the weekend. Then they ride home on that afternoon and then every third Thursday, from October to May, they’re meeting together for the entire day,” Earls said.
Hartwig said topics are divided into government and public safety, business and industry, arts and culture, medical services, social services and energy.
Energy is a new one.
“That was a recommendation from someone who had gone through the program a couple of years ago,” Earls said.
Hartwig said every session someone walks away saying they learned something new about Odessa.
“Whether you’ve lived here all your life or you’ve lived here one day, you are going to learn an abundant amount of information about our community and really see it from different eyes. The goal of it, and the reason it’s called leadership is we hope that at the end of nine months, they really have found a niche or either an area of service or a particular organization that they want to find out more (about), and they delve into some type of service, either through volunteer or through a board placement,” Earls said.
After the government and public safety session last October, Hartwig said a couple of them got together and decided they wanted to do something special for first responders.
“They chose Odessa Fire Rescue and amongst themselves, as a group, as a class, they raised all of the funds needed to feed for three days in a row, every fireman in the city,” Hartwig said.
“That was their idea. They spearheaded it. They collected all the money. They cooked the meals. They enjoyed it so much that they say that that’s going to be a long-standing thing for that class each year. It may not necessarily always be OFR, it could be the police department or another organization that they want to give back in some way. It’s all come from Leadership Odessa; what they witnessed and experienced and who they talked to,” she added.
If they decide to make the alumni a committee, it would be under the chamber of commerce, which will provide structure and support for the organization.
“That’s what we’re hoping will happen after they all come together next week, and after the survey that we’re passing out that they all decide, yes, let’s do something with this,” Hartwig said.
