The Leadership Workshop and the Raspberry Royalty are overseen by the Mainstreet Foundation Board of Directors. The foundation is a part of the larger Hopkins Raspberry Festival. The idea for the Leadership Workshop was the brain child of a task force that was put together to re-envision the purpose of the Raspberry Royalty Program. When people think royalty, they tend to think crown and gown. But we know that it is so much more than that and wanted to make a bigger impact within the community. The idea was to re-brand royalty to be synonymous with leadership and to get away from the glitz and glamour image. In comes the Leadership Workshop.
The Leadership Workshop is for any young woman entering into the professional world. Geared towards those ages 17 to 25, the workshop consists of events and sessions based on our pillars of leadership with additional sessions just for fun! The workshop is designed to stand alone from the Royalty Program and gives ladies the flexibility to come to whatever sessions they choose that will best support their leadership journey.
At the conclusion of the Leadership Workshop, participants have the option of participating in the Raspberry Royalty Candidacy program. This candidacy leads to the selection of our three Royalty. Candidates participate in a private interview, group activities to showcase leadership and cooperation skills, a shopping experience to prepare for that interview, and a service project. Sound intense?! Those that participated in the Leadership Workshop will be well prepared! (And don’t worry if you didn’t. The coordinator team is still there to support you.) The candidacy program concludes with our Raspberry Royalty Coronation and the crowning of our Royalty for the next year.
The selected Raspberry Royalty continue their leadership development throughout the next year with the support of the Mainstreet Foundation Board of Directors. And that is how all of these great programs are connected!
