by Kelli Bowen
As I get older, the strangest things bring me the most joy. Take last week: I went to Bismarck to connect with Rural Leadership North Dakota, a wonderful program facilitated by NDSU Extension. I was in Class VII, almost a decade ago. Fun fact: my project for that class was starting my own blog…which I am still writing.
We met with the current class, the alumni, and lawmakers to discuss the importance of having programs to develop leadership skills across the state and helping to encourage and foster networking.
Our class had the strongest showing with 1/3 of our cohort attending the legislative social that evening.
While catching up we found out how the families were doing, new jobs, children and grandchildren updates, who moved, and we laughed.
We shared our alphabet soups: we have involvement in NDFB, NDFU, NDASCD, USDA, FSA, TRMF, and we all are RLNDAA.
We traveled to the other side of the planet together. We reminisced about our “Back in ‘Nam” stories. We recapped how we accidentally left a now state representative in Bangkok before realizing we were one short. Always stay put when left behind.
We talked about Vietnamese farming practices, orange groves, slipping in rice patties, Cards Against Humanity, and all of the cultural differences-both here and abroad.
With these folks, some who I hadn’t seen in years, we slipped back into our easy conversations like time hadn’t passed at all. By the end of the night, we all mentioned that getting together was good for our spirit and we looked forward to our next alumni event.
Our class stopped in Medora during one of our sessions. It just so happens, that it will be the next time we get together. The current class will graduate and join their place in the RLND alumni club. I’ll wager Class VII gets more than 1/3 in attendance…we were the best class after all.
If you know anyone who is interested in investing in themselves, may I suggest the Rural Leadership North Dakota program? You never know—you might start a blog or meet some of your new best friends!
https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/programs/rural-leadership-north-dakota
Kelli makes her home in Billings County with her husband, two daughters and a dog. She works for North Dakota's #1 tourist destination by day and tries to be an alright mom, wife, friend, and writer by night.
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