Last year’s Leadership Adirondack ‘Adopt-a-Soldier’ program packed up 140 boxes of hand-selected items to be shipped overseas to the deployed troops.
By Susan E. Campbell
Applications are still being accepted for an annual program that has already helped more than 300 local business people and elected officials who are members of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) to become better and more effective leaders in the community.
Leadership Adirondack is a long-standing program of the Chamber. Now in its 23rd year, the program’s mission is “to train tomorrow’s business and community leaders today,” said Carrie Sullivan, director of finance and administration for ARCC.
Sullivan is the program coordinator this year with the responsibility of organizing the community businesses the program participants will meet with. She is also part of a seven-person advisory council that is seeking applications right up to the fast-approaching deadline of August 24th.
This year, for the first time, the Chamber held an information session where members could come learn what the program offers and hear directly from program alumni. “I have had many alumni say to me, we have lived here all our lives and thought we knew this community, but this program opened our eyes to how the businesses and non-profit organizations make this community function and what it is today,” Sullivan said.
Leadership Adirondack is limited to 20 up-and-coming business leaders who have been referred by their employers, other Chamber members or former graduates of the program, and who have a proven commitment to the community, according to Sullivan.
The application itself is several pages of essay questions in which applicants express their personal strengths and what they hope to take away from Leadership Adirondack. More important, they impart what they believe are the biggest challenges facing the region.
Because the program requires much time away from their jobs, applicants must provide commitment letters from their employers, as well as letters of referral.
The program kicks off with a get acquainted reception on September 19, 2012 and ends with a graduation dinner on February 21, 2013. Two or three times a month in between, participants attend full-day sessions. Class members must attend 80 percent of these to graduate.
Leadership Adirondack is a dynamic program and the curriculum can change from year to year.
“Last year the advisory committee suggested the program include an agricultural day where we would tour different agricultural businesses throughout Washington County,” Sullivan said. “It was received so well we are planning to keep it as part of the program this year.”
Other sessions include art, history and tourism; corporate citizenship and board of directors responsibilities; education and workforce development; health care and human services; manufacturing; communications and media; and government and legal services.
“Some of our Chamber members have large manufacturing businesses that we will be able to tour, meet with management to get a sense of the company’s history and future plans, as well as have question and answer time,” said Sullivan.
These exchanges are where individuals from diverse backgrounds network and share hands-on experiences while gaining a more in-depth understanding of the region. The experiences and leadership tools gained help graduates become more influential in critical decisions facing the community and often result in promotions within their companies, according to Sullivan.
A week after kick-off, participants are transported to a two-day retreat. The retreat is mandatory and focuses on management styles and leadership training.
During the retreat, class members will select a volunteer activity to work on as a group project. Volunteering and having an opportunity to give back to the community are important aspects of this program, according to Sullivan.
“The community service projects change year to year because of the diversity of the participants,” she said.
For example, the class of 2011-2012 did not want to do a fundraiser for its project or simply ask people for money. “They wanted to volunteer their time,” Sullivan said. “That class of 18 people donated more than 400 hours to non-profit organizations.”
One project was Adopt-a-Soldier. Pictured above are some of the 140 boxes that were packed with hand-selected items to ship overseas to the deployed troops.
They also rang bells for Salvation Army.
“That was not so much hard work as heart warming to see how many people gave,” said Sullivan, herself a graduate of last year’s class. She said the time she contributed was “rewarding and makes a difference,” but it doesn’t stop there.
“Our group continues to get together for networking and plans to volunteer again this year to collect food for the local food bank,” Sullivan said.
“You really become close and have lasting relationships after the program is over. You become part of an elite alumni,” she said.
Sullivan said she is personally looking forward to meeting the 20 up-and-coming leaders that will be accepted to Leadership Adirondack 2012-13 class and to staying involved in the program behind the scenes.
Joining Sullivan and ARCC president and CEO Peter Aust on the Leadershio Adirondack Advisory Council are Jackie Figueroa, KEENA; Kim Filion, JMZ Architects & Planners, P.C.; Thomas Guay, The Sagamore Resort; Michael Murray, Adirondack Trust Company; and Robert Hafner of Miller, Mannix, Schachner & Hafner, LLC. All are Leadership Adirondack graduates.
The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce celebrates its centennial in 2014. For more information about ARCC and an application for Leadership Adirondack, contact Carrie Sullivan at 798-1761 or visit online at www.adirondackchamber.org.