This is the mission of Leadership Huntsville/Madison County, who recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary and will commemorate this occasion on Thursday, October 11th at the VBC North Hall. Graduates from Leadership programs across the 25 years will gather to celebrate with guest speaker former Secretary of Defense, Dr. Robert Gates.
In its 25 years, Leadership has developed programs to meet the growing needs and levels of engagement in the community, and currently offers programs beginning as young as ninth grade.
Leadership has a very specific vision: to build a community of effective and unified leaders characterized by respect, trust and diversity, to enhance the future growth and prosperity of the Tennessee Valley. Through its 2,000+ program graduates, Leadership Huntsville/Madison County provides a continuing pipeline of educated and dedicated leaders who function as agents of change, which contributes to the continued growth and prosperity of our community and region.
Identify
Just how do they identify this pipeline of leaders? You might think it’s a super secret invite only program, but it’s actually the opposite. Anyone can and is encouraged to apply for any of Leadership’s programs. Part of what made my Connect experience so valuable was the diversity of participants. Our class had folks from every industry you could think of: nonprofit, education, government, design, finance, law, and so forth.
Having all of these perspectives, all different from mine, was what made each program day more interesting, more worthwhile. It let me see each experience through a different lens. This is the beauty of Leadership. They work diligently on the make up of all their classes, be it a Connect Class or a Masters Class, to make sure that they have a wide variety of experiences and industries.
Because your Leadership experience is a break from your every day life, it is a chance to explore the Huntsville that you may not know. Now matter how well you think you know Huntsville, Leadership will show you otherwise and you will be a better person for it. A better employee. A better community servant. A better community leader.
Educate
I grew up in Huntsville. I was active in many community activities and really thought I knew all there was to know about Huntsville. I was absolutely blown away every program day. There was so much about Huntsville/Madison County that I had no idea about. I had only scratched the surface of what was here. Connect has been a program that changed my life.
–Margie Morrow, C13; Sci-Quest
That’s my friend and fellow Connect classmate Margie talking about her Connect experience. Margie’s experience is a common one among Leadership program graduates. Because regardless of how well you think you know Huntsville, Leadership has something to teach you about some aspect of this town.
Think you’ve been there, done that in Huntsville? Here’s some of my Connect Program Day highlights:
- Raised money to rebuild Hackleburg schools by riding a mechanical bull at Mickey’s in downtown
- I went to jail. Seriously. The food SUCKS! I recommend NOT getting arrested. Ever.
- Saw Huntsville from atop a helipad
- Had a personal meeting with the mayors of Huntsville and Madison
- Learned my Meyers-Briggs personality type and had it broken down for me by the always fabulous Dr. Daniel Crosby of Incblot (who I may have interrupted during his explanatory lecture and gotten the death stare but in my defense I was trying to help him out)
- Watched a guy get removed from a car with the jaws of life (it was a demonstration- no one was really injured but the jaws of life were certainly REAL!)
Inspire
As a transplant, the city of Huntsville was largely a mystery to me for the three years prior to being accepted to Connect. In fact, I was inclined to leave the city for other professional opportunities before becoming a part of Class 13. Now I don’t want to live anywhere else and have plans to make Huntsville my permanent home.
-T.C. Miller, C13; SPARTA, Inc.
That is my friend T.C. Miller, another amazing Connect Class 13 graduate. And his experience was much more similar to mine. While I cannot say where I would like to live for the rest of my life, I can say that Connect and the friendships I formed there are part of the reason that I chose to remain in Huntsville for the foreseeable future. And I have no doubt that T.C. and the countless other Leadership program graduates will shape the future of Huntsville for the better for years to come.
About halfway through my Connect program, Cassie Scott, our program director, pointed out a subtle shift in the way our class has started to ask questions and it is an important distinction that I believe is engrained in all Leadership graduates; she noted that we had all started to ask how could we help, what actions could we take, not what were others doing, what could we ask others to do. In essence we had accepted our roles as community leaders and were stepping up to the plate.
Programs
There are many ways to lead and there is literally a program for everyone in Leadership’s catalogue.
- Challenge: Summer program for our youth leaders, designed to expose them to community challenges and develop their leadership skills for service in their schools and community.
- Connect: Specifically designed for young professionals under the age of 40. Connect is designed to help them learn, engage and network for increased community involvement.
- Leadership: Annual flagship 10-month program for adults that emphasizes learning through experience and provides in-depth knowledge to give them the tools and a network to better serve the community.
- Focus: Interactive, two-day session for executives that introduces participants to our community’s challenges and possibilities.
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Impact: Graduate program for community Leadership program graduates who focus on one issue, once a year, to impact systemic change.
- Management: Enhance the value and productivity of your best managers by transforming them into better leaders as they learn from local, proven leaders.
- Masters: To enhance knowledge of mature participants about Huntsville/Madison County’s successes and challenges and inspire each to pursue opportunities that enrich their lives and the community.
Event Information
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 5-9pm
Location: Von Braun Center North Hall
Click here to reserve your spot
Proceeds support Leadership’s Scholarship fund
Guest blogger for We Are Huntsville. Are you interested in writing a post for our site? Email katelyn@wearehuntsville.com.