Heart of Wisconsin
Business & Economic Alliance and
Community Foundation of
South Wood County
|
A Joint Initiative Between Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance and Community Foundation of South Wood County |
Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications |
Breaking News March 30, 2006 - Progress program focuses on leadership By: Andrew Hellpap, Daily Tribune Staff A Ford Foundation grant might start to pay dividends for the Community Progress Initiative and its efforts to improve the local economy, those involved with the initiative say. An $87,000 portion of the $240,000 grant the initiative received in February was used to fund an Advanced Leadership Institute on March 16 and 17 at Hotel Mead in Wisconsin Rapids, said Kelly Lucas, president of Community Foundation of South Wood County. "It's a critical component in the progress initiative and for the future of the region," she said. The goal of the institute is to develop a permanent group of community members who can lead the way in local development. The institute was a two-day leadership training seminar attended by 40 business and community leaders from central Wisconsin. Craig Timm, manager of communications and government relations for Domtar Industries, attended the institute. Showing the importance of gathering cross-sections of the community to collaborate in development was key, Timm said. "It was a very good representation of community and business leaders in south Wood County," he said. The institute took the Community Progress Initiative to another level, he said. "I kind of look at it as fine-tuning it," he said. Timm said he would be interested in future involvement in programs that might come out of the leadership institute. The institute was conducted by ThoughtBridge Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., in connection with Ki Consulting of Indianapolis by Katherine Tyler Scott, Joanna Murray and Irma Tyler Wood. Ki Consulting has performed similar seminars in Wyoming and Montana through the Ford Foundation. In May, senior program officer for the Ford Foundation Linetta Gilbert will visit Wisconsin Rapids to monitor the success of the Community Progress Initiative. If the success is up to par, Lucas said, the initiative will be able to sponsor another Advanced Leadership Institute. It is wise to support outreach to all sections of the community in determining the regional vision for central Wisconsin, said Ericka Cloud, training and development director at Rainbow Casino in Nekoosa, who also attended the seminar. "The key point to having a group of individuals of this capacity is simply the awareness of others," she said. A different twist to the institute was the collaboration of labor interests, Lucas said. Wayne Wesenberg, president of the Wisconsin Rapids & Vicinity Central Labor Council, and attended the institute. "I'm pleased that there is a strong desire to include the voice of labor in planning for the future," Wesenberg said. The need to have all members of the community represented in the plans to develop a regional vision for central Wisconsin is important, Lucas said. "Inclusiveness is a key cornerstone of the program," she said. Most of the $87,000 price tag for the institute was in the consultant fee for Ki Consulting, but portions of the money went for renting the space for the seminar and miscellaneous items, Lucas said. An overlooked aspect with seminars such as the Advanced Leadership Institute is simply meeting new people, Timm said. In his line of work, Timm said, he meets a tremendous amount of people, but never gets a chance to work with them or even get to know who they really are. With the small nature of many of the exercises at the institute, individuals where forced to collaborate on diverse development topics, Timm said. "The bottom line for all of us is to keep central Wisconsin a good place to live and work," he said. |
||||
|
|
|||||