Leadership Carteret Weekly Wrap-Up: Orientation Day

Leadership Carteret, one of the Chamber’s longest running programs, kicked off last week. The 2025 class includes 32 professionals representing a range of industries–banking, education, property management, hospitality, utilities and government, to name just a few.

The class met for the first time Tuesday, Jan. 14th, at the traditional Kick-Off Reception. The next morning, they donned their “Best Class Ever!” t-shirts and gathered at Camp Albemarle in the Pines for an intense day of getting-to-know-you activities culminating in the infamous Wall challenge.

Between icebreakers and getting-to-know-you exercises, the class was split into six groups (balanced by Real Colors personality testing) and heard from six local nonprofit organizations: The Bridge Downeast, Habitat for Humanity of the Crystal Coast, Carteret Community Theatre, Camp Albemarle, Carteret County Humane Society, and Hope Mission of Coastal Carolina. Each presented on their missions and visions, then laid out a service project to be completed by the class before graduation in April.

By early afternoon, the group had settled in and really started to dig into who each of their classmates truly is. Early conversations about pets and years lived in Carteret County turned to deep discussions about challenges our area faces and struggles classmates had overcome.

There was just one more step to take before the day was done, and it was a big one: climbing The Wall.

Each year we–staff and volunteer facilitators–watch as the new class nonchalantly walks through the forest, chatting with their new friends, slowly making their way toward The Wall. And, each year as The Wall suddenly appears through the trees, we watch faces fall, eyebrows raise, and a general sense of unease set in among the class. Eventually someone yells out asking if there’s a rope or if they can hold onto the edges of the 12-foot-tall structure as they climb.

Nope. But, they do have each other, and what seems impossible at first glance suddenly isn’t.

This year’s class was no different. After several minutes of strategizing, the first classmate successfully scaled the wall as everyone cheered him on. The unease started to lift, and determination settled in. Several scrapes and bruises later and running on adrenaline, the group completed the challenge. That morning they were a group of strangers. Just 7 hours later they’d become one entity: The Class of 2025.

Special Thanks

Orientation Day sponsors were Debra Whaley, Attorney at Law and Robby Oakes Mortgage Team at CIMG. Orientation Day was facilitated by Christina Fulcher (Mary Cheatham King Real Estate/Class of 2016), Amanda Moore (First Bank/Class of 2016), Tom Hussmann (Camp Albemarle/Class of 2010), and Alan Leary (RE/MAX Ocean Properties/Class of 2000). Thank you to The Banks Grill for providing breakfast and Fat Fella’s BBQ & Grille for providing lunch.