Leadership San Juan donates new laundry facilities to McCormick Elementary School

HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP SAN JUAN Class is one of more than 2,000 programs

Leadership San Juan is a class offered through San Juan College. To enroll in a class, participants must first to fill out an application. Applications are currently being accepted. The deadline to apply for this year's class is 5 p.m. May 1. Applications are available online at sanjuancollege.edu.

Beginnings: Leadership San Juan began through the efforts of James Henderson, Marjorie Black and Nancy Shepherd at San Juan College.

Nearly 25 years ago: The first class of Leadership San Juan began in September 1989. The class graduated in May 1990.

Albuquerque: The program consulted Leadership Albuquerque for advice when it formed. Leadership Albuquerque started a few years before Leadership San Juan.

Goal: Each leadership program in the country focuses on the unique needs of the community it serves. Leadership San Juan focuses on increasing awareness and knowledge of local issues.

FARMINGTON When members of Leadership San Juan toured McCormick Elementary School last fall, they noticed a small room at the school with a 15-year-old washing machine and dryer.

The members learned Griselda Jaramillo, a nurse at the school, uses the machines to wash dirty uniforms some students wear to school. Because McCormick Elementary serves a number of low-income students, sometimes children arrive at the school in uniforms that need to be washed, school staff said.

And that inspired this year's Leadership San Juan class, which adopted the theme of helping children, to make one of its projects remodeling the little laundry room.

Doug Hatfield, a Leadership San Juan member, shows off a pair of shoes donated by K-Mart as Brent Jensen, the manager of Sam's Club, looks on at the school in Farmington.

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Leadership San Juan donates new laundry facilities to McCormick Elementary School