Carbon County, PA – After months of planning and anticipation, Leadership Carbon is now accepting applications for the Class of 2012. A program of the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Carbon’s steering committee devoted a great deal of time and effort upgrading the curriculum.
A major enhancement to the Leadership Carbon program which meets one day a month from September through May, is professional facilitation. While each class will have a local leader open the monthly sessions, an accredited individual will facilitate the dynamic skill set portion of the day.
It takes good leadership to make positive things happen in a community. Steering Committee member, Dawn Ferrante, a Leadership Carbon graduate herself, is excited about the reinvigorated program.
“We have reached out to graduates to find out what really worked and where we can maximize each student’s valuable time. This will be a great opportunity for participants to develop their talents for the betterment of our community.”
The committee conducted a series of intensive one-on-one interviews with alumni of past classes and researched other programs throughout the state to come up this year’s series of classes. Each month, participants will gain knowledge through a “Community Profile” while experiencing the best of what Carbon County has to offer. Topics such as Environment, Business and Government will be coupled with “Leadership Skills” such as Behaviorial Styles, Communication Skills and Managing Change
An additional benefit of the program that local employers are sure to value is that all graduates will be certified in leadership training through Lehigh Carbon Community College’s Leadership and Workforce Development Center.
The purpose of Leadership Carbon is to coach up-and-coming leaders on skills relevant to community action and involvement. Since 2005, graduates of the program can be found all around us putting their talents and time into serving their communities in many ways. Some of them are in elected or appointed offices, others are in key positions of community service, and others are the leaders of our educational systems. Sixty-five individuals have graduated from the program since inception. Many have gone on to become volunteers, organizers and municipal representatives. The program works!
According to Micah Gursky of St. Luke’s Miner’s Memorial Hospital, “… the Leadership Carbon program made me a more valuable employee and a better team member.”
Applications are available online at www.leadershipcarbon.com or by calling Sandy Duda at 610-377-4063 or e-mail leadershipcarbon@carboncountychamber.org.
