2022 SLG Impact Champion Honorees

Although we are grateful for our volunteers all year long, in April, we pause to celebrate their accomplishments.  You will get to see their collective impact in the 2022 Impact Report;  However, in 2022, there were a few that stood out as they supported, developed, and expanded the number of courageous leaders among us.  Please join us in celebrating the various ways they helped carry the heavy load of 2022!

Service Champions – Ray Rottman and Joe Fougere

Making the Impact Champion list again (with no surprise, I might add) is Ray Rottman.  He is joined in this honor for 2022 by Joe Fougere, both logging over 100 hours!  If you haven’t met Ray, he is one of SLG’s founding mentors and has been leading cohorts since 2019.  He currently leads our Annapolis cohorts (both spring and fall), and on top of all the preparation and administration, he personally conducts all the EQ coaching sessions for his fellows!

Joe Fougere has been mentoring with SLG since 2020 and has become more involved each year.  Most recently, he has stepped into the Program Manager role for our Groton location and is completing his Program Manager certification.  As you continue to read, you will see his name pop up a couple more times as this past year he was instrumental in many ways to the growth and health of SLG!

Mentor Champions - Joe Fougere and Jim McNeal

As promised, Joe Fougere is also one of our Mentor Champions.  He went above and beyond in 2022 as he mentored four Fellows across four cohorts, two of which were running at the same time!  But his mentorship does not end with the cohort.  He has checked in with each of his Fellows, either by having a meal or via zoom when they are not local, since they have completed the program.

Jim McNeal has also earned a top spot as a mentor as he entered his fifth cohort in a row this year.  Jim has repeatedly shown up to support his Fellows at professional events and presentations, had their families over for meals, and have followed up on their personal and professional progress.  You may also recognize him from our website refresh as he shared his mentoring journey with SLG.

Network Champions  -  Chris Goodale, Jack Houdeshell, Robert Torrealba and John McGaha

Each year we like to highlight those who have helped us reach new leaders and mentors to expand and grow the number of courageous leaders across industries and across our nation.  In 2022, SLG ‘21 Alum Chris Goodale, SLG Certified Mentor Jack Houdeshell, and SLG ‘22 Robert Torrealba each brought four new leaders to SLG!   Additionally, SLG Board Director John McGaha introduced SLG to 10 new organizations in 2022, all of whom are interested to partner with SLG for their leadership development.

These new leaders have not only had the opportunity to experience the life-changing benefits of SLG, but they have collectively already brought seven additional leaders to the Network!  These gentlemen are multipliers of multipliers!

Excellence Champions - Kristen Earp, Mike Murphy, Don Vinci, Joe Fougere, Sheldon Church, Bruce Engelhardt, and Aaron Thieme‍

One of our major projects from 2022 was revamping the curriculum to align with our founder, Sig Berg’s new book, Swing.  As with everything with SLG, this would not have been possible without an entire team of support!  While many, many more were involved in some way with this project, we owe a special thanks to SLG ‘21 Alumna Kristen Earp for her incredible work. Kristen, along with our Director of Programs Judy Farrell, took on the lion’s share of redesigning the Fellows guidebook, updating the learning objectives, evaluation, and metrics, and development of more robust resources for the Program Managers.

Additionally, SLG Certified Mentors Mike Murphy, Don Vinci, Joe Fougere, Sheldon Church, Bruce Englehardt, and Aaron Thieme were all instrumental in the piloting of the new curriculum through providing particularly rich feedback!  The response to the refreshed curriculum has received rave reviews as the third and fourth cohort continue in their journey with it.

Consider-it-Done Champion - Gretchen Moran

We round out our Hall of SLG Champions this year with one of our most versatile volunteers.  Although Gretchen Moran could only mentor one cohort in 2022 due to family commitments (as if mentoring a single cohort isn’t already an incredible gift!), she found many more ways to step in to help where needed!  From opening her home to host the 2021 volunteer appreciation event to providing EQ coaching to a number of Fellows and certifying Mentors to sponsoring a new Mentor to serving up food and drinks at the Fall 2022 Annapolis cohort graduation, Gretchen was there making things happen!

‍