Courtesy LADK
By Rod Bacon
A vibrant business community is created because its members are willing to contribute their time and energy to keep improving it.
To set the stage for best practices, the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce has, since 1991, offered Leadership Adirondack (LADK), a program that brings management personnel together with proven leaders across many business sectors.
Historically, it was offered every year but Covid disrupted that schedule and it is now run every other year. The most recent group is the Class of 2025, which started last fall and graduated this past February. Applications for the Class of 2027 will be accepted in the spring of 2026.
“The reason for the change is that we’ve shifted the program a little bit,” said Tricia Rogers, president and CEO of the chamber. “We’ve made it more of an intense leadership training.”
She noted that due to the more in-depth sessions, which continue to be modified to give attendees the best possible experience, the price has increased slightly over past years. The cost for members of the last class was $3,000, and Rogers foresees the possibility of a slight increase going forward. Non-profits may apply for needs-based scholarships, which are funded by the ARCC Foundation, of up to $300.
An outside leadership professional, who works with a staff liaison, is hired to run the program. Currently, the liaison is Carol Ann Conover, director of events and community engagement. Rogers attends as many of the seminars and tours as her schedule permits.
A request for proposal is sent out before each class begins to a chamber member who is a recognized leadership professional. Cal Hamel of Catamount Consulting, who has since retired, did it for several years. Last year Brian Rollo of Brian Rollo Consulting Group took the reins.
Prospective attendees must fill out an online application that includes a biography and questions about why they want to take advantage of the program. An advisory committee made up of Leadership Adirondack alumni review the applications and decide who will benefit from participation.
A typical class numbers between 14 and 18 members. Rogers estimates that approximately 600 chamber members have gone through the program since its inception.
The program starts with a meet-and-greet where the class gets together with alumni in an informal setting. Rogers noted that because it is always “shifting and growing” there are approximately eight half-day and full-day sessions and about 15 site tours. There is also a requirement of 10 hours of volunteer work for a community non-profit.
For example, the class of 2020 did a Support Your Trades project that focused on raising scholarship funding for BOCES students. The class raised $30,000 and helped 26 young people continue their training.
Past classes have raised funds for the Moreau Community Center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the Glens Falls Youth Center.
The last class shifted gears a bit and solicited suggestions from area non-profits about projects with which they needed help. Fourteen members devoted 10 hours each to 14 different organizations on these requests. .
“Many of these participants didn’t even know that some of these non-profits existed in our community, so it was such an educational piece for them as they grew their careers and learned more about our region,” Rogers said.
To learn more about this chamber initiative go to adirondackchamber.org, click on Education, and scroll down to Leadership Adirondack. Because the program is being revamped there is little current content but complete information will be available when the application process begins for the Class of 2027.