President's Note - Fall 2023

WOW! What an incredible opportunity to be here with you all, inspired by your passion and commitments to our community and to yourselves. This year has been a learning experience that I’ll never forget as I have completely jumped out of my comfort zone into a leading role as President of the Board of Directors. Challenging yes, yet very rewarding. Do you feel complete joy about guiding folks to a better them? Resonating with Simon Sinek, an optimist who believes in a bright future and the ability of building it together, Simon says “The joy of leadership comes from seeing others achieve more than they thought they were capable of.”

I feel this completely. SO Proud of our volunteers who have jumped in because they have the passion to learn and be a better self, knowing we are here cheering them on every step of the way. Watching the light shine from their souls as they work through the task and see the results that they have created is so INSPIRING!

I reflect on my own experience as well when Donna Flinchbaugh’s phone call came in advising I had been recommended to be the President of the Board of Directors. My first internal thought was, there’s no way. I have never done this before and I found SO many reasons why it shouldn’t be me. I asked her to send me the details and I would get her an answer later that evening intending to say no. I pondered on it and finally told myself, YOU CAN DO IT! I connected with her later that evening and told her Yes. I have grown with all of you and we, together, have created leaps and bounds of accomplishments for the future of Chautauqua Leadership Network.

As Christine Caine states “Change can be scary. The world is spinning faster than ever with new technologies, new challenges, and new opportunities. But don’t let fear hold you back. Embrace the chaos, thrive in it, and remember: you’re the captain of your ship. Take the wheel firmly in your hands, set your sights on the horizon, and sail bravely into the uncharted waters of continuous personal development. Your team is counting on you to lead the way, to be the lighthouse in the storm. Invest in yourself—your skills, your knowledge, your growth—because the better you become, the higher everyone around you will rise. Let’s make today the first day of the rest of your incredible, ever-evolving leadership journey!”

We have a couple immediate volunteer opportunities available:

– Co-Treasurer for the Board of Directors

– Marketing Chair

If interested in either of these, please let me know or let another CLN’er know and we will get you acclimated and ready to roll. We are here for you.

Applications for the Next Best Class Ever open October 1st with a 27 person list requesting to be contacted! We can host 30 – if you know someone who would be interested, please let them know they can apply on our website chautauqualeadership.org. First come first serve basis.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

– Cynde Johnson