The Boldest Class ever is outstanding in their field
By Kari Goetz | May 20, 2026
Six months after launching Winzig Consulting, I said yes to chairing Leadership Tampa Class of 2026.
I know. I know.
If you are an entrepreneur, you understand what the first year of building a business looks like. You are barely sleeping. You are figuring out your services, your clients, your cash flow. The last thing you need is another major commitment layered on top.
And yet.
When the opportunity came, I said yes. Not because it was smart. Because it was right.
Here is a truth about me: I have been involved with Leadership Tampa in some capacity for 23 years. Since 2003, every graduating class has had some small piece of my energy in it. I had the honor of being a member of LT’Gr18 (say it out loud, it will make sense). I have served on committees for Arts and Culture Day, Transportation Day, and Tourism Day. I had the privilege of being the inaugural chair of Collegiate Leadership Tampa and the Vice Chair of LT’25. And for all those years, I have been the person who stands in front of the incoming class at Opening Retreat to ensure that they know the name of every member of their class.
I am, in the truest sense of the phrase, a believer.
The Program Worth Believing In
Leadership Tampa was born on a boat.
In 1970, Parke Wright III, then Chair of the Tampa Bay Chamber, was out on the water with colleagues examining pollution in McKay Bay. Someone looked around at the group and asked: what if we sink? Who is going to carry on the leadership of our community?
The answer, of course, is Leadership Tampa.
More than 50 years and 2,500 graduates later, the program is still doing exactly what Parke Wright envisioned: introducing a diverse group of professionals to the full complexity of Tampa Bay, and challenging them to give back and grow the community they call home. It is the third-oldest leadership program of its kind in the nation. It covers first responders, education, tourism, the military, economic development, the arts, and more. Participants get behind-the-scenes access that most people in this city never see: ride-alongs, teacher shadowing days, candid conversations with community leaders.
And every year, the class that comes in as strangers leaves as something much closer to family.
Yes, And
Before the LT’26 class had their first program day, I stood in front of them at Opening Retreat and introduced them to a concept from improv theater: Yes, And.
In improv, you never deny your scene partner. When they offer you something, you accept it and build on it. You say yes, and then you add. The scene lives or dies on this agreement between the people in it.
I told them: for the next nine months, these are your scene partners. Your job is to make them look good. Their job is to make you look good. Play at the top of your intelligence. Show up honest, grounded, and brave rather than easy or expected.
And I have been watching all year.
When a program day partner pivoted on short notice, the class said yes, and led everyone to Feeding Tampa Bay for an unexpected Day of Service. When the class found themselves in rooms most people never get access to, they asked the follow-up questions, the hard ones, the three-part ones. When someone in the class needed a contact, the whole network mobilized. When the early morning Discord messages started, the community was already there to answer them.
The improv framework is not a performance technique. It is a leadership philosophy. Show up ready. Trust your scene partners. Build on what is in front of you instead of waiting for a perfect script that will never come.
LT’26 embodied it.
The Scene Does Not End With Graduation
At graduation, I got to celebrate each and every one of them, by name, by contribution, by accomplishment. Because they made me look good all year and it was my honor to ensure that they graduate looking good.
I have been privileged to be part of this program for 23 years, in small ways and large ones. Chairing LT’26 was the most significant civic commitment I have made, and I did it while building something new, in a city I love, surrounded by people who reminded me every single day why this work matters.
Was I crazy to say yes?
Almost certainly.
Would I say yes again?
Every single time.
To the LT’26 class: the scene does not end tonight. It moves to a bigger stage. Go out there and keep making each other look good. Keep asking the follow-up questions. Keep being BOLD.
Tampa needs exactly LT’26 represents. And now, they get to share with the world.
It has been the honor of my leadership life to be their Chair.
Leadership Tampa is part of the Tampa Bay Chamber Foundation. The program was founded in 1970 and has graduated more than 2,500 leaders across Tampa Bay.
