leadship genesee

Laurie Pfaff (Class of ’09) is the 2013 Leadership Genesee Outstanding Alumnus.

She will be honored along with the 24 members in the Class of 2013 at Leadership Genesee’s annual Graduation Celebration on Dec. 5 at Terry Hills.

Pfaff is the Marketing support supervisor at Liberty Pumps in Bergen, where she has worked for six years. She was nominated for the award by Liberty Pumps President Charlie Cook, LG Class of 2003. Cook describes Laurie as well-organized, driven to succeed, and representative of the “spirit” of his organization. He cites her strong involvement with Leadership Genesee as a large factor in his nomination of her.

“Laurie lives and breathes LG and is an advocate for the program both here at work and in public,” Charlie notes. “As a supervisor, she has applied what she has learned through Leadership Genesee to strengthen the performance of her team and reinforce the culture of the company as a whole.”

As an alumna of Leadership Genesee, Pfaff has served on many Design Teams, including Outdoor Leadership Challenge, Criminal Justice, Alumni Day, Our Business, Our Economics and Encouraging the Leader Within. She has also served on multiple committees, including Steering Committee (since 2011), Marketing Committee (on which she has served as the chair) and was the 10-Year Anniversary Co-chair. She has also assisted on the Recruitment/Selection committee, attended Facilitation Skills training and serves as the Class of 2009 Radar, working to keep her class connected.

For the past several years, she has donated her skills as a photographer to provide professional headshots of each of our graduates. As Charlie notes in his nomination, “She seems to be at every event and program, camera in hand, to help, to learn, to donate or to just have fun and enjoy the people.”

When asked why she has been so active in the program, her first answer is simple: “I believe in Leadership Genesee.” She also says that “This year-long program made a very big difference in my life as an employee, a citizen, a coworker, a supervisor, a subordinate, a mom, a wife and a grandmother! I could go on! This program really does touch every part of your life. It teaches you from many different angles and it allows you to form relationships you may not have had an opportunity to establish in any other way.”

Laurie shared that the most important thing in her life is her family, including her husband, Brian, her children and her 1-year old granddaughter, Maddie. While her children are grown, they still make time to have family dinner at the Pfaff home once a week. Becoming a grandmother “changed her life significantly” she says, adding that she enjoys spending most weekends with Maddie.

She is also an avid freelance photographer and graphic designer. She says her granddaughter and her teacup Chihuahua, Cowboy, (that she adopted from a rescue in Texas last year) make perfect subjects! Laurie also enjoys running, kayaking, golfing and shopping.

Pfaff was asked what she might say to someone who is unsure about participating in Leadership Genesee: “Don’t hesitate! This program will make a difference in your life. It is different for everyone that goes through the program. In order for you to benefit from this program, you must keep an open mind, be willing to learn and also, be willing to share. The program gives to the classmates, but, it is just as important for the classmates to give to the program to make it complete.”

Leadership Genesee continues to accept applications for the Class of 2014 -- its 14th year of programming. It's a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Genesee County, which provides equal program and employment opportunities.

For more information about Leadership Genesee or participating in the Class of 2014, please contact Director Peggy Marone at (585) 343-3040, ext. 118.