The nine months are almost up and I’m exhausted, but happy — much like being pregnant and soon to give birth.

Leadership Napa Valley Class XXII has been fun, with some great folks. It’s been extremely educational. We’ve visited great places, met exciting tops-in-their-fields professionals, gone behind the scenes and seen what makes our community tick and learned why it all runs so smoothly.

One of the main purposes, probably the main purpose, of LNV is to encourage participants to get involved in our community, to find our particular niche where we might be able to make a difference.

One aspect of LNV is team building. On our second day of orientation, we participated in the ropes course. (For more info on the course, visit www.getoutdoorsnapa.com, a Web site created by my LNV group to highlight outdoors opportunities in Napa County.)

In our field trips to businesses and ranchers, I noted a similarity in the values and work ethics of both groups. The farmers value the land, and most are doing sustainable farming to protect the fields for future generations. Business owners also have unwavering enthusiasm and pride in their product, appreciating their employees and letting them know it.

Our day with Napa County Health and Human Services Director Randy Snowden was truly inspiring. There are services in our community for all, regardless of the ability to pay. If you serve as a volunteer or if you are a paid employee, you must always respect these folks who are down on their luck and allow them their dignity.

We spent another day learning about the wine industry and tourism. As an added plus, we got to ride the Wine Train. On other days we learned about recycling, government planning and finances, and more, from experts in the field.

A huge part of what makes this program so exciting and successful are the three people who volunteer to head it up year after year: Suzanne Shiff, in charge of the Practicum Teams; Bob Fioretti, second in command and everyone’s best friend; and the leader of the group, a gal with a delicious sense of humor, and a dedication to Leadership and its students, a great picture taker and a kind of a mother hen encouraging us to spread our wings.

Can you guess who this amazing person is? It’s our own Napa mayor, Jill Techel.

We’ll soon graduate, but we expect to keep in touch. Once you’re in Leadership, you’ll always want to be a part of it. As my grandchildren say, it rocks! I’m afraid I’ve not done it justice and you will know what I mean if and when you decide to try out for this great experience yourself.

You know that old saying, “Life is a banquet and most poor souls are starving to death.” Don’t let anyone ever have the opportunity to say that about you.

Senior Corner appears every other Monday, alternating in this space with Jim Ford’s Napa As It Was. Betty can be reached at bettyrrhodes@sbcglobal.net.