Texas Border Business
Edinburg – The island is usually known for rest and relaxation. However, recently, Leadership Edinburg’s newest class went through a team-building weekend retreat that none of them will soon forget.
The Leadership Edinburg Class XXXI retreat, facilitated by John Maxwell-trained motivated speaker, Chis’mere Mallard, began like most other conferences began. Everyone was eager to learn more about this journey. Monica De La Cruz, an agent for State Farm and class-appointed liaison, said, “I expected that we would have some team building and planning.” She went on to say, “I didn’t expect that the group of 18 would be so motivated and bond so quickly and tightly in such a short period of time.” By the end of the conference, it was a completely different group. A family had formed, one built on the bonds of team building exercises, lively presentations, and powerful, optimistic messages of reaching their full, untapped potential.
Chis’mere (pronounced “Shmere”) Mallard is a native Texan, born and raised in Houston, who now resides in the Rio Grande Valley. His story of hardship, being raised in a broken home, and on the brink of suicide, gives his story of triumph and success a unique message of hope and inspiration. Chis’mere believes there is a winner hiding inside each of us and he came to the retreat to help unlock that winner within each of the Leadership Edinburg classmates.
Chis’mere’s light, humorous style is punctuated with wisdom that we all need to hear. He has an engaging way of keeping an audience’s attention, making his talk personal for each and every one of them. When asked what he wanted this Edinburg Leadership class to walk away with, Chis’mere said, “Leaders instill in others, hope for success, passion for their purpose, and the desire to lead others.” He continued, “Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.”
The class was subjected to various team building tasks, which required communication and learning the strengths of each member of the team. Each task was challenging, but provided the class with insights on how working as a team can help accomplish anything. “I discovered that I needed to quickly take care of my personal unfinished business so that I could fully focus on my new team’s goals,” said Monica De La Cruz.
Leadership Edinburg is designed by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce to allow class members to interact with one another and members of the community to encourage a better Edinburg. The nine- month program is structured to help class members understand the problems and opportunities we face through strong leadership skills focusing on politics, education, and quality of life. Each month, the class will meet to visit and discuss various entities of the community. At the end of the program, the class will present a project which aims at improving the Edinburg community.
The Mission of the Edinburg Chamber is to lead the effort in advancing commerce and the quality of life in Edinburg and the region. We will foster service, development, and growth by forging positive relationships, advocating volunteerism, and leadership development. For more information on this or other programs of the Chamber, or to become a member of the Edinburg Chamber, please contact the Zayda Pacheco at 956.383.4974 or log onto www.edinburg.com.
