Leadership Austin Blog: Announcing the ESSENTIAL Class of 2014!

Congratulations to the Essential Class of 2014!  I had a great experience as part of the Essential Class of 2010.

Leadership Austin Blog: Announcing the ESSENTIAL Class of 2014!: We are very pleased to announce the participants of the Leadership Austin ESSENTIAL Class of 2014! This year marks the 35th anniversary of L...

Go to the Leadership Austin site to learn more about the Essential program.

Make Sushi, Help Japan

Red Snapper, In Pre-Sushi Form.

[photo (by WDFloyd)]








If you're looking for a fun and culinarily informative way to help raise funds for disaster relief in Japan, then check out the upcoming Sushi Roll-a-Thon sponsored by the Austin Asian American Chamber of Commerce.  Here are the details I received via email (from a friend from my 2010 Leadership Austin Essential Class):

SUSHI ROLL-A-THON TO BENEFIT JAPAN DISASTER RELIEF

The greater Austin community comes together to offer a sushi rolling class to benefit victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

This Sushi Roll-a-thon event teaches the art of rolling sushi, while raising funds to help the Japanese community.  Special thanks to all the people involved in making this fundraiser happen quickly.   

What:                    Sushi Roll-a-thon for Japan Disaster Relief

Learn to roll with two of Austin’s Top Sushi Chefs

·                     Chef Kayo Asazu, Owner of Sushi A-Go-Go

·                      Chef Take Asazu

Live music and dance performances:

·                     Trio Jazz performance by Masumi & the Gentlemen

·                      Japanese Dance by Hanabirakai

When:                    Wednesday, March 23, 2011,

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Where:                  National Instruments

Building C, Conference Rm. 1S13

11500 North Mopac Expwy

Austin, Texas 78750

Parking Info:  Upon entering National Instruments, please take the first right after driving through the double gates. Visitor Parking is in the surface lot and parking garage across from Building C (Free).

Cost:                      $55 per person (includes sushi rolls and appetizers)

All proceeds go to the American Red Cross to support the Japan disaster relief.  For details, go to www.austinaacc.org.

To purchase tickets click here.

If sushi isn't your bag, there are plenty of other ways to help.  The situation in Japan is still quite dire.

Events: Leadership Austin Emerge Kickoff Party

If you are interested in the Leadership Austin Emerge Program, then you should plan to hit Star Bar on 7/15 for the program's kickoff party. Leadership Austin staff and program alumni will be at the event in order to answer questions about the program and to explain the application process.

I'm an alumnus of the 2008 Emerge program as well as this year's Essential class. Both classes were quite different, but very cool. Emerge is the class that got me hooked on Leadership Austin. I met a lot of great young professionals in my class, as well as some very interesting instructors (e.g., Bijoy Goswami). I still draw on the lessons from the Emerge curriculum, and I still have regular contact with friends I met though the program.

I'm not going to spill the beans about what the class has to offer. I will tell you that if you're a young professional in Austin who's involved in the community and wants to take said involvement to a new level, then you need to attend the Emerge kickoff happy hour at Star Bar next Thursday, 7/15. And, if you can't join us next Thursday, then visit the Emerge information session on 8/10.

Cool Idea: Car2Go

I must admit, I was initially skeptical about the concept behind Car2Go; however, after seeing their presentation at the December Leadership Austin Essential class I warmed up to the idea. Then, after class, I was offered a ride in one of the Smart Cars from the Car2go fleet. It was pretty fun... and the more I think about the concept, the more I like it. Not that I'm going to sell my Passat, but as I plan to move closer in to downtown Austin I love the idea of being able to grab a car for an unplanned one way rental in order to easily get around the central part of the city. As my girlfriend will tell you, I'm eagerly anticipating weekends wherein I won't have to use my car at all.