Allen County Together, County-wide Leadership Program
Allen County's greatest assets have been the quality of its community leadership. To assure and continue the quality of that leadership, Thrive Allen County, Iola Area Chamber of Commerce are proud to sponsor a new and exciting initiative – ACT – Allen County Together. This dynamic program is designed to educate, equip, expand and engage current and emerging leaders who live or work in Allen County.
The ACT Program has four major components:
1) Educate the participants regarding the public and private enterprises that exist in the County.
2) Equip the participants with lifelong skills that will be used in both professional and personal lives.
3) Expand the leadership-base within the county to help address the needs of our citizens.
4) Engage the participants in experiences that will benefit the county and its citizens.
Individuals may nominate themselves, or they may be nominated by their businesses or organizations. The experiences and knowledge gained through participation in the program will have an immediate and positive effect on the participants, their associates, and Allen County.
One of the main objectives for this program is to recruit candidates with diverse backgrounds. Participants will range from small business owners to corporate executives, private and public sectors, non-profit, government and education. The program also acquaints participants with the dynamics of leadership, and familiarizes the class with the duties of those in leadership positions. Participants are motivated to become involved and accept leadership roles within the community, and to provide continuity through the establishment of a High School Leadership Program.
Throughout this process the class participants can expect to visit area businesses, education and health institutions, government services and non-profit agencies. The class will also have an opportunity to attend the multi-day Leadership Summit hosted by the Kansas Leadership Center. Each class will be packed with learning, teaching, networking, and of course FUN!
Class sessions are once-a-month beginning in April and will consist of six all-day class sessions, April, May, June, September, October and November. November will be a “graduation” with the class participating in the Kansas Leadership Center’s SUMMIT. Each session will have a similar structure with part of the day focusing on leadership skill development, a County education session giving participants an idea of the county-wide services, and finally a class meeting will be the conclusion of the day. The class session will provide an opportunity for debriefing and for the class to begin conceptualizing and planning their service project. Each class session will be in a different location around the county.
In addition to class sessions the participants are challenged to conceived, developed, executed and evaluated a CLASS SERVICE PROJECT. This project will be focused on addressing a need in the county as identified by the class. The funding of the project will be part of the development and execution stages for the class to address. In all likelihood fund raising will be needed, but help through county resources will be available to the class.
