Loved the LEX Trip!

Now that I’ve recovered from the LEX trip to Minneapolis, the bronchitis I brought home from the Twin Cities, and two more out-of-town trips, I have to take a moment to thank the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation (DMCLF) staff who made the LEX trip happen.

What is LEX, you might ask? It is an amazing opportunity coordinated each year by the DMCLF during which select leaders from the Denver community are escorted on a three- or four-day excursion to a strategically chosen city where best practices are studied and friendships are forged. LEX stands for Leadership Exchange trip, and the recent trip was cause for celebration, as it was the 20^th anniversary of the annual LEX trip.

Having organized and attended hundreds of large-scale events during my career, I was impressed every step of the way with how the DMCLF staff paid attention to even the smallest of details. From the luggage tags that kept all of our luggage together so it arrived magically at our hotel, to the pocket briefing book that became our bible over the three days, to the lost-and-found items that appeared each morning after an evening full of activities, they planned for everything and made it appear seamless. As we all know, in reality, they were herding 150+ Type-A cats at any given time over a 58-hour period. I’m sure you can appreciate how challenging that can be!

So, thanks to Denise King, Anna Loewen, Christy Newhof and Allison Tolson, along with Toi Jones and Jean Kavanaugh, for making the trip such a success. And thanks to the senior staff of the Chamber and the Foundation – Robert Blankenship, Tom Clark, Karen Kruse, Maureen McDonald and Tamra Ward – for your participation and enthusiasm throughout the trip.

If you’re not familiar with the DMCLF and the fantastic programs they offer, check them out online. I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in Leadership Denver, where I learned a great deal about our community and formed lifelong friendships. Obviously I am now hooked on the above-mentioned LEX trip, where I learned even more about what it takes to make our community great and met and spent quality time with leaders from a variety of sectors – United Way, Metro Denver Sports Commission, Western Union Foundation and Young American Center for Financial Education from the nonprofit sector; Comcast, Xcel Energy and Qwest from the public sector; the Public Education & Business Coalition, Denver Public Schools Foundation and University of Denver Colorado from the education sector; and my colleagues from creative agencies, Linhart Public Relations, Johnston Wells, Pure Brand, Xcelente Marketing and GBSM -- who I hope to cross paths with countless times throughout our careers in Denver. I encourage you to check out the DMCLF and get involved. You’ll receive back tenfold what you put into these programs.

~Ramonna