When I considered the opportunity to participate in VALOR I knew that there would be many experiences that were outside my comfort zone. It was something that was both a little terrifying and also exciting. My days are typically spent at my desk or in meetings with other local, state, and federal bureaucrat types. With… Continue reading Finding New in the Familiar
To say that spending time in a city is somewhat out of my comfort zone would be a large understatement! City streets, traffic, people and all things that go with this are VASTLY out of my comfort zone! I'm so far out of my comfort zone that I've experienced minor panic attacks trying to determine… Continue reading Stepping out of Your Comfort Zone
In my “extra-curricular” professional career I’ve taken on a few new roles on several board of directors of non-profits over the past year, or so. This type of service and volunteering is new to me and wanting to take these responsibilities seriously and live out a motto that speaks true to me - “Whatever your… Continue reading The Power of Influence
Why networking matters During our recent Seminar in Richmond, I was struck by the power of relationships. Our first meeting of the trip was in the Governor's Cabinet Room with key members of the Cabinet. We discussed several issues affecting Virginia Agriculture, including the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, H2A regulations, and workforce development. These leaders made… Continue reading Completing circuits
“Agriculture and forestry are Virginia’s first and third largest industries.” In our first meeting of the Richmond seminar, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matt Lohr shared this statistic with our VALOR class. While it was mentioned directly a few times during our days in and around the state capital (even by Governor Youngkin during his… Continue reading Number One and Number Three
As I reflect on our cohort’s adventure in Richmond in January, the theme of service comes to mind. We were able to meet with so many fellow Virginians who keep this state’s government running day-to-day, and year-to-year. Many of these people are elected or appointed to their positions for short (or extended) periods of time,… Continue reading An Attitude of Service
Throughout my life I travelled thru Richmond. But, I never really had the privilege of seeing Virginia politics at work. To say I learned a lot during VALOR’s third seminar in January is an understatement. We started our seminar at the office of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). We were… Continue reading I Learned A Lot During My First Trip To Richmond
- Paul B.With the new year it seems fitting that I work to not let things linger until they are forgotten or overcome by other events. VALOR Class VI has just completed it's 3rd seminar (Richmond - Legislative Advocacy & Policy Development), and yet this will be my first blog post [plenty of encouragement from… Continue reading Catching Up
A teacher told me that sentence right before I started my first semester of college. I still hear her in the back of my head because it continues to ring true throughout my life. First, I was introduced to peanuts. They come from a can, right? Well, actually, there are several varieties and one of… Continue reading The more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.
When was the last time that you experienced something for the first time? Every time I’m put into unfamiliar situations or when I find myself facing a new or unexpected experience, I ask myself this question. I think we can all agree, as we get older, the number of times we encounter something for the… Continue reading A First Time for Everything
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