Dear Friends,
At this time of year, we reflect on the year behind us to mine the lessons learned and celebrate our accomplishments. We also plan for the year ahead by thinking of the endless possibilities for growth and meaningfulness and establishing goals. With that in mind, I am pleased to share:
2024
– At this year’s Jingle & Joy: Annual Toy Drive Extravaganza, LBC’s alumni, board, and staff donated 475 toys to children in foster care being served by the Baltimore County Department of Social Services. This is a tremendous increase over last year. Thank you to our generous community!
– LBC engaged an independent consultant, Wendy Wolff, to guide us through creating a new strategic plan. We have some finishing touches to make before releasing it publicly, but we are so appreciative of the input we received from alumni and other stakeholders and are excited to build upon a strong past for an even more impactful future.
– LBC completed the Class of 2024 and launched the Class of 2025. These two cohorts are the third and second largest cohorts, respectively, in our 42-year history. The 2024 cohort, recently having earned the “Best Class Ever” designation, is already planning a dinner in January to keep their connections going strong. The bonds they built with one another were a delight to witness. The 2025 cohort started out just as strong with a phenomenal Opening Retreat in September at a new-to-LBC venue, Adamah/Pearlstone.
– We started January 2024 with three new LBC board members: Brian Bailey, Tradepoint Atlantic; Barak Hermann, Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore; and Michelle Willie, Kaiser Permanente. We elected five additional members to the Board of Directors in October: Danielle Ford, BGE; Rebecca Greenberg, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of MD; Ed Joffe, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company; Steve Jones, Towson University; and Dawn Witherspoon, The League for People with Disabilities.
– We welcomed Erica Lambert as LBC’s new Administrative Specialist, after saying goodbye to Greg Bell, who moved to Pennsylvania. Erica is a technology guru and has already improved many of our systems. We are so happy to have you on the team, Erica!
– While maybe not the most exciting accomplishment to external constituents, we continued to improve our infrastructure by streamlining our business processes and upgrading our technology, including our CRM system. LBC is now storing and sharing data through Teams where all cohort members, board, and committee members can communicate and share documents seamlessly. Thanks to Epic Solutions Partners and Ephesus Technology Consulting Group for designing and implementing these solutions.
2025
– We can’t wait to implement our new strategic plan. As a sneak peek, we have a plethora of programs and initiatives to evaluate and enhance or implement within the following three priority areas:
1. Community Connection & Impact
2. Alumni Engagement & Growth
3. Strategic Alliances Enhancements
– Storytelling! Just this month at our Jingle & Joy event, we launched the Storytelling Project – an initiative that will tell the stories of amazing LBC alumni. Please let us know if you’d like to participate by emailing Kastin Krupinski and saying, “Yes!” Be on the lookout for our alumni stories on social media, our e-newsletter, and our website in the new year.
Wishing you a lovely holiday season filled with light and love, and a happy and healthy New Year!
Warmly,
Amanda Zinn
President & CEO