Group XI – National Seminar, Energy Issues

March 12-18, 2005

by: Jonathan Niehaus, Group XI participant, Port Washington

Group XI in Washington, DC

The National Seminar to Washington D.C. was an interesting culmination of everything that had happened to the group so far. The trip allowed us to draw on and compare what we had studied about the workings of government at the State level during our first session in Madison, it made us reflect on personal reasons for wanting to be a leader that we considered in Tomahawk, and it further illustrated the vast diversity and intricacy of issues that our society faces that we saw during the Milwaukee session.

Everyone came to Washington with heads cluttered with a disparate and exhausting collection of readings that examined issues and questions concerning energy both nationally and internationally. Throughout the course of the week our awareness of the circumstances concerning energy in our society and how it is interrelated to our economy, health, culture and future grew.

The complexity and vastness of the problems and possibilities were explored through sessions with lobbyists, consultants, Congressmen, congressional aides, authors, and a wide variety of characters that inhabit the nation’s capital. There were contradictions in research, multiple variations of opinion, and a catalogue of possible solutions and probable causes.

As we explored the city and visited and learned from its populace we also added to our understanding of what leadership entails and what demands it often makes when one is confronted with multifaceted issues that embody a twisted relationship of economic, geographic, governmental, developmental, scientific, and social politics.

The monuments of Washington served as a profound backdrop and reminder of the sacrifice and integrity that have characterized the many leaders that have shaped and continue to shape the path this country is taking. They served as a reminder that difficult times have always faced our nation, but that we continue to persevere and prosper through the determination and insight of those who choose to lead.

L-R: Dave Wernecke, Leanne Ketterhagen, Dawn Olson, Ellen Rulseh, Annie Smith, Gerilynn Perkins, Al Anderson

This seminar was co-chaired by Al Anderson, Director for the Center for Community Economic Development, UW-Extension and David Wernecke, Director, Baraboo Range Preservation Association.