Most people try to avoid coming face-to-face with big guys
dressed in SWAT gear holding guns that look like they might have
been swiped from the set of The Terminator. They attempt not to
make eye-contact with the huge German shepherd being walked down
the street by its owner on Sunday afternoons. And they try not to
get involved with anything that might get them sequestered in the
Police Department for the whole day.
Hollister – Most people try to avoid coming face-to-face with big guys dressed in SWAT gear holding guns that look like they might have been swiped from the set of The Terminator. They attempt not to make eye-contact with the huge German shepherd being walked down the street by its owner on Sunday afternoons. And they try not to get involved with anything that might get them sequestered in the Police Department for the whole day.
And it’s probably safe to say that, put in any of these situations, most people wouldn’t sit there intently scribbling notes.
But such is not the case for the 2004-2005 class of Leadership San Benito County. The group of 29 active community members spent Friday morning up-close and personal with guns, tasers and a dog that sniffs out narcotics, stares down suspects and scares them into submission.
“We’re learning more about all the aspects of the community so we can help give people direction,” said Bette Grace as her classmates around her packed up their belongings and headed over to the county jail for a tour.
Later that day, they hit the fire station, listened to a lecture on Emergency Medical Services and had a Q&A session with some of the county’s top judicial authorities.
Friday’s session on public safety was the fifth installment of Leadership SBC’s first year-long curriculum, which brings its members together once a month for workshops with different themes like Agriculture, Local Government and Education.
The program is all about three things, said board member Kathy Johnson, who also helped start the program: Teaching awareness of community issues, skill-building and forming relationships.
“The relationships are last but certainly not least,” Johnson said. “We have representatives from all different sectors in this class, and the relationships you build with other sectors gives you a different lens to look through. If you have a question about fire safety, you know who to go to. If you have a question about non-profits, there’s someone in your class who runs one.”
Prior to sending out applications for the inaugural class, the board went to the county’s major businesses and asked them to enroll a representative. By getting together a class of 29 people from different aspects of the community, Johnson said, the program reaches a cross-section of individuals who are determined to make San Benito County a better place. Class members range from lawyers, to nurses, to employees from the Red Cross and Ridgemark Golf & Country Club. Hollister City Councilman Brad Pike is also a member.
“I think a lot of the people here are really committed to saying ‘How can I make the community a better place?'” Johnson said. “Some of these people are already leaders who just want to know how they can do a better job, and some of them are people who are maybe new to the community or who have never gotten involved before and want to get involved.”
Dennis Reeves, who moved to Hollister two years ago from Hawaii, said he fit into the second category.
“I’m pretty new to the community, but I always volunteered back when I lived in Hawaii. I’ve really learned a lot. This is a great group,” Reeves said.
When the first class of Leadership SBC graduates in August, Johnson said she hopes they will bring their enhanced leadership skills back to the workplace, run for public office, or be recruited by non-profits looking for employees and volunteers with their backgrounds.
“I’m hoping that each person in this class is sitting through these presentations thinking ‘What’s my passion? Where do I want to make a difference?’ And I’m hoping that this helps them find it,” she said.
Leadership SBC isn’t taking applications for next year yet, but should begin in April. Anyone interested in joining can contact Lynda Pettibone Smith at 831-636-4161 or ls*************@ya***.com. She will keep a list of names to send applications to in April.
Tuition is $950, and partial scholarships are available.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
