Lunch and Learns - May 16 - 20
During International Coaching Week, ICF North Texas will celebrate the power and impact of professional coaching by hosting 45-minute “Lunch and Learns.” The structure will include a 15-minute micro learning session and 30-minute discussion/breakout sessions. Theses free virtual learning engagements are open to the public, and we ask for your help by sharing the registration links with your network.
All sessions are from 12:15 – 1:00 PM, May 16 – 20. Register here for the Lunch and Learn Sessions.
Monday, May 16, 2022
Presenter: Karen Gray
Title: What Would Your Future Look Like If You Could Stop Carrying Around the Rocks from Your Past and Could Instead Use Those Rocks to Build a Path to Your Best Life?
Coaching isn't magic, but when you begin to change your mindset and release some of the blocks you have and change how you see yourself and your future, it will FEEL like magic! In this lunch session, I will help you:
• Identify the ROCKS you have been carrying
• Move Them out of your bags
• CREATE a new path
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Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Presenters: Laurie Goetz and Michele Galen
Title: What Would Your Future Look Like if You Could Boost Your Executive Presence?
Learn the success model for executive presence and the four ways you can strengthen yours. The group coaching workshop will include an executive presence self-assessment and a breakout discussion.
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Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Presenter: Teresa Dabney
Title: How Would Your Future Be Different If You Had More Time and Fewer Distractions, Starting Today?
What would you accomplish in one year and beyond? Learn four key factors that rob you of time and contribute to chaos in your life when left unharnessed.
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Thursday, May 19, 2022
Presenter: Dara Rossi
Title: What Would Your Future Look if You Knew How to Make a Career Leap?
Are you ready for a career transition but not sure how to go about it? Come learn the P.R.E.P career success strategy to make a leap—no matter your starting point.
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Friday, May 20, 2022
Presenter: Staci Witten
Title: How Would Your Future Be Different if You Had a Winning Profile on LinkedIn?
This session will share tips on creating a winning profile on LinkedIn that will help you as a professional, business owner or a job seeker.
Member Snapshot - Cheryl Close, MCC
This month we get to feature our chapter’s newest MCC, Cheryl Close!
Here is Sara Smith, MCC, pinning Cheryl Close upon the announcement that she has earned her Master Coaching Certification (MCC)!
Coaching business. Cheryl offers executive and leadership coaching to individuals and teams as well as being a mentor coach to other coaches. In 2011 she established Close Coaching & Consulting and she has built a beautiful reputation.
An Interesting path to coaching. Before she opened her coaching business, Cheryl enjoyed a wonderful career in education, beginning as a teacher’s aide and interpreter to put herself through college. “As a teacher, assistant principal and then Principal, I found I loved working with people—big and little—and see them accomplish their goals.” She explained, “I saw growth happen at a much deeper level and ‘stick’ when it was based on their own insights and style.” So, she began coaching her teachers and new principals at neighboring schools. “Like watching the little six-year-old in my first-grade classroom realize he could now read, I was soon witnessing how my partnership with colleagues was opening up new possibilities for them, and I felt the same kind of thrill and honor.”
Cheryl moved into a role as the Director of Advanced Academics and Program Integration which meant she became responsible for coaching all principals for their first three to four years through a coaching-based leadership development program she co-created with another principal called Coaching Lewisville Administrators for Student Success (CLASS). It was adopted by Lewisville ISD as their leadership development program for campus leaders and it won the ICF North Texas Prism Award in 2011.
“At the beginning of my coaching career,” said Cheryl, “I was able to attend the International Coaching Federation Convention in Fort Worth which was amazing for me as a new coach.” All this experience, along with training through Results Coaching Global, set her on a pathway to open her own business. Cheryl shared that she really loves working with executives who are stepping into a new role as well as those who already understand the value of excellent leadership and who have a desire to serve others and take their organizations to new heights.
Why are you an ICF Global and ICF North Texas chapter member? “I love ICF North Texas for so many reasons, but the first would be for our members who are all at various points on their coaching journey,” Cheryl explained. “It’s the perfect group from which to get and give support to others.” Besides the great relationships she has gained, Cheryl treasures the fantastic learning opportunities from ICF North Texas and our Southeast Region, the chances to give back to our community, and the ways to participate in the global coaching community.
Cheryl has served as a chapter volunteer in several ways over the years, including being an ambassador who would call members about upcoming programs, serving on our Membership Committee and now, as the Director of Membership.
LINC group champion. And we can’t talk about Cheryl without sharing that she helped to establish and launch our LINC groups alongside ICF North Texas member Jim Cooper. LINC group are part of our chapter’s ‘secret sauce,’ an especially rich way to enhance relationships with members. “Jim and I talked about it over lunch one day and then brought the idea to build a small group dynamic to the board,” she explained. While she has attended a few meetings with the original Book Club LINC and the Digital Marketing LINC, the group that means the most to her is the MCC Study LINC. “I owe so much to the MCC Study LINC members,” Cheryl said. “Each of them has contributed to my growth. Month after month our MCCs Sara Smith, Teresa Pool, and Mina Brown donate hundreds of hours of their time to help our MCC Study LINC members grow and reach their goals. It’s an incredible gift.”
More about Cheryl. Beyond her ICF roles, Cheryl has also been President-Elect of the Texas Coaches Coalition for its first two years and beginning in July, will serve a two-year term as President. She is also the Executive Secretary of the Cross Timbers Rotary Club and one of its 120 members who are committed to community and international service.
Here is Cheryl with her Cross Timbers Rotary pals on a cruise to Cozumel, delivering 40 backpacks stuffed with medical and education supplies for the school there as part of the work they did in cooperation with the local Rotary Club.
Cheryl married her high school sweetheart, Van, and they recently celebrated their 48th anniversary.
Cheryl and Van loved their daughter Vanessa with all their hearts for her 19 short years, and they keep her legacy alive by sponsoring an Annual Girls Invitational Golf Tournament for some of the best golfers in the state. They also provide two scholarships in her name each year.
They gained a ‘bonus son’ Marco, an exchange student from Italy, who lived with Cheryl and Van for a year. Marco and his family have all become an extension of the Close family.
Cheryl and Van live in Copper Canyon with their Maltese, Sugar, and their Golden Retriever, Ranger. She shared, “We love to travel in our RV, spending time with friends and family, and I enjoy reading, writing, sewing, embroidering, quilting, and more.”