Lindsay Wehr (IL Fall 2017), Director, Advancement Communications, University of Louisville

All reading this most likely have attended a professional conference. You’ve done your research. You’ve determined your budget. You’ve figured out what you want to get out of that conference. Chances are after you attend; you come back with a million ideas, and ideally implement one or two.

Ignite Louisville flips that script upside down.

After the past two days at opening retreat, I left thinking the opposite. I thought WOW, what impact can I personally make for the non-profit we are matched with through the Yum! Ignite Louisville Challenge. I also came away knowing that no matter what non-profit my group ends up working with, the process will ignite my passion for philanthropy, and our group will ideally ignite new ideas through the solutions we offer them.

Ignite Louisville retreat at beautiful Wooded Glen in Southern Indiana. (left to right) Gigi Govindarajalu, Angie Corbett and Lindsay Wehr

Now that I have already talked about the future, let me take a step back and let you know a little bit about the opening retreat of Ignite Louisville held at the stunning Wooded Glen. Our class of 44 arrived bright and early Thursday morning. Most seemed anxious. Anxious about what the next few days would bring. Anxious about sharing a room and spending the weekend with a complete stranger. Anxious about who was going to be in our group of six or seven that we would spend huge amounts of time with over the next six months. Let me tell you – all of that anxiety goes away almost instantly (at least for me it did).

Without giving away too much of the agenda since hopefully you will experience it for yourself, Day 1 begins with a name game, and not only getting to know each other, but being taught very important tips about names and networking. This is followed by icebreakers and table challenges that set the tone for the rest of the day. We also heard from key individuals throughout the day from Leadership Louisville Center, as well as a panel of Ignite Louisville graduates.

Day 2 starts out all about you. Learning about your personality, viewing personality test results, and learning tips on how to view things as objectively as possible. The presentation from the Oliver Group was one of the best I have ever seen, and I have sat through a LOT of presentations. In the afternoon, immediately after we found out our groups, we had the pleasure of meeting 10 non-profits with very specific asks. Over the next few weeks (again, not to give too much away), our team of seven will go through the selection and matching process.

I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Whether it is from a future blogger, or me I hope this peaks your interest in this and other Leadership Louisville Center programs because they are like no other, challenging who you are as an individual and who you are as a team member. More to come (and go table 6!)

Learn more about the Ignite Louisville program