Leadership Columbia County Promotes Community Awareness, Leadership, Volunteerism

This year's class of the Leadership Columbia County program has spent the past five months exploring Columbia County , learning valuable information about just what our county has to offer, and there's more to come with classes and activities through June.

Participants generally become part of the program so they can add to their knowledge about the place where they work and/or live, but they walk away from the 10-month program with even more benefits, having made valuable connections that will help them in all aspects of their lives.

Whether they've lived here since childhood or moved into the county recently, Leadership “students” said the experience has helped them both personally and professionally.

“The connections have been invaluable already and we're only in the fifth month (of the Leadership program),” said Capt. April Griffiths, one of the 17 members of this year's class.

Griffiths moved here in June 2007 to run the local Salvation Army branch. The branch's advisory board recommended Griffiths join Leadership Columbia County, as her predecessor, Lorraine Medina had done. “Sometimes I don't get to see the bigger picture of our county,” she explained.

Her participation will also have a direct benefit for the Salvation Army, which relies heavily on volunteers and donations to serve community members in need. “I definitely think the people in my class are becoming much more aware of the Salvation Army, and that's always a good thing,” noted Griffiths.

Helping community members see the bigger picture of Columbia County, fostering volunteerism, and cultivating leadership are the main goals of the Leadership Columbia County program. Now in its 17 th year, the program was started by a collective of county organizations and is currently run by the Chamber.

Each year, Columbia County employers submit candidates for the program from the ranks of their staff. Nominees are interviewed to determine if they are the right fit for the program. Program fees are paid by the employers, with a few sponsoring businesses offering financial assistance if needed.

Starting in September, the group of participants meets one day a month. They gather for seminars on the various aspects of leadership, volunteerism, and balancing home and work lives. Other activities include “field trips” to local businesses, farms, healthcare entities and arts/history/tourism spots.

The program wraps up with the group's participation in a community project, followed by “graduation” in June.

John Brusie, project manager at Ginsberg's Foods and one of this year's Leadership Columbia County participants, was born and raised in southern Columbia County and northern Dutchess County. He joined the program not only to gain leadership skills, but also learn more about this county, and has discovered much he didn't know.

“I learned about some of businesses that are under the radar, and being from southern Columbia County I learned a lot more about northern Columbia County,” he said. For example, he wasn't aware of Sonoco Crellin in Chatham, which manufactures the plastic containers for McDonald's restaurants. “its things like that you never realize until you become part of a group that opens your eyes.”

“The program has allowed me to see and experience some of Columbia County

I might have otherwise never seen,” he added. “However, the most important aspect of Leadership Columbia County is meeting a hugely diverse group of people that I hope to learn from every time we get together.”

John Friedman moved to the county in March 2008, and after opening his own law offices in Hudson decided to join this year's class so he could expand his horizons.

“I wanted to learn more about Columbia County and the local economy, and meet people who are interested in the same sort of things that I am. It seemed like a good way to accomplish both of those goals,” he said.

Everybody in the program has been friendly and fun, Friedman said, and eager to share ideas about both leisure and business opportunities. He's been surprised by some of the things he's learned, like the prevalence of small farms instead of larger ones in Columbia County's economy. The importance of equine farms and the ripple effect they have on local economies was another eye-opening fact.

“I've learned some surprising things about the local economy and met a lot of local people and business managers. It's been a good education on several fronts,” Friedman said.

Tammy Vincent, office manager at the Catskill office of Fingar Insurance, was encouraged by her employer to join this year's Leadership class.

“I'm hoping to become more organized and a better office manager. You learn a lot from the others in the class - how they run their offices, etc. It's very interesting,” she said. “I've been able to see places I wasn't even familiar with. It's made me more aware of what's going on in the community, what it has to offer, and how we can help certain organizations as well.”

Other participants in this year's Leadership Columbia County are: Kip Summerlin and Amy Shufelt-Cure, Columbia-Greene Federal Credit Union; Cherie Lyn Bruno, JSL Computer Services Inc.; Tami Connolly, Taconic Farms, Inc.; Matthew Griesemer, Freeman Howard PC; Pamela Geskie, Hudson-Catskill Newspapers; Lori Bervy, Kinderhook Bank; Brian Stickles, The Bank of Greene County; Christy Decker, Columbia-Greene Community College; Carol Patterson, Columbia County Chamber of Commerce; Tricia DiGregorio; Tom Wolfe, First Niagara Bank; and Tammy Lodge, Columbia Memorial Hospital.

For more information on enrolling in the next Leadership Columbia County class contact the Chamber office.