CLASSROOM REFLECTION

Masters Class Reflection

Alan Ruby, Kalispell, Flagship Class of 2018, Masters 2023

The actor/comedian Will Rogers once said, “A man only learns in two ways, one by reading and the other by association with smarter people.”

Well, the 16 members of this year’s Leadership Montana Masters Class did both May 10-12 in beautiful Meagher County. It seemed like forever since the February session in Helena. All members joyfully gathered together to share our progress and challenges with our personal leadership goals.

Although the lodging was at the Edith Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, the setting was a short drive away at the beautifully restored church in Ringling. It couldn’t have been a better setting for focused work as acclaimed author, Patricia Hughes, led us for two days in Courageous Collaboration techniques and awareness.

But even better than the groaner “Dad jokes” and the excellent Community Conversation with businesses and ranchers was the chance to practice the very leadership skills we were taught and made aware of in a full class discussion of recent Montana events. Everyone strove to listen, to learn, and understand, to probe and address the hard questions and do all this with civility and respect. Class member, Greg Bailly, said it best, “It’s like a basketball team that has been practicing dribbling, passing, and shooting and finally putting it all together in a game situation.”

And the Masters Class of ‘23 has game. Let’s share the love in Butte on June 1.