Leadership Academy Kick-Off Retreat

Posted by Amy Clickner on October 11, 2011

One of the most exciting aspects of fall is welcoming the new Lake Superior Leadership Academy (LSLA) class to their eight month interactive journey. The mission of the LSLA is to “bring together new, emerging and potential leaders from the Marquette County area to address pertinent community needs, strengthen individual leadership abilities and encourage participants to personally commit to assuming leadership roles in the community”. So what does that really mean? It means the Academy students are about to embark on an incredible eight month journey around Marquette County and will gain the knowledge, desire and the ability to positively impact our region.

The kick-off retreat for the LSLA Class of 2012 took place this past weekend at the Ramada Inn where the class participated in ice breaking activities and a day-long “simulated society” exercise facilitated by Dr. Larry Peppers of Clemson University. The retreat provides the format for the following programs, which will vary from structured exercises to exploring the dynamics of our society.

The next phase of their journey is to experience the inner workings of our community and gain a broad understanding of how each piece fits together. The sessions that the students participate in are: Regional Economy, Health and Human Services, Education, Criminal Justice, Arts & Culture, Media, Government and Leadership. These valuable sessions would not be possible without our dedicated Leadership Academy committee, or our day chairs who take the lead on setting a challenging agenda for each.

Since the LSLA began in 1999, it has graduated over 250 community leaders who have infused our community with their broad based knowledge and extensive network of people. Graduates have gone on to serve as mayor, police chief, as well as members of non-profit boards and school boards.

The Academy actively solicits applicants from all sectors of the community. It is important that a cross-section of the community be represented to guarantee a diversity of perspectives that will generate meaningful interaction and learning throughout the year.

If you are interested in becoming a candidate, or if you see a fit for this type of professional development for your staff, you can sponsor an employee or submit an application any time of year. Tuition for LSLA may be paid by the sponsoring organization or corporation. A limited number of partial scholarships may be granted to individuals who might otherwise be unable to attend. Because of a generous scholarship from MARESA, we have also engaged a high school student and high school teacher to add to the group’s diversity.

I would like to thank and congratulate those businesses and organizations who have stepped forward to sponsor the participants of the LSLA Class of 2012:

John Basse—Pathways

Kahlea Berry— Lake Superior Community Partnership

Caralee Swanberg— Lake Superior Community Partnership

Stephanie Jones—Select Realty

Gwendolyn Thurston—Rio Tinto

Jeff Nyquist—UP Home Health, Hospice & Private Duty

Jimmy Johnson—Casa Calabria

Jen Claus—Upper Peninsula Health Plan

Melissa Holmquist— Upper Peninsula Health Plan

Beverly Trynoski—Manpower

Virgil Schlorke—Upper Peninsula Power Company

Katie Schoonveld—Northern Michigan University

Amy Elliott—Marquette West Rotary

Kristin Wodzinski—Bell Hospital

Kim Matulewicz—MARESA

Paulina Puskala—MARESA

Stacy Chantelois—River Valley Bank

Jamie Tomczyk—VAST

Pete Meyer—Edward Jones

Eric Stemen—City of Marquette

Susan Bohor—City of Marquette

Susan Bovan—City of Marquette

Matt Edgell—Michigan Education Association

For more information on the Lake Superior Leadership Academy, contact Lindsay Hemmila by calling 226-9658, or by email at lhemmila@marquette.org. As always, you’ll find information by visiting us on the web at www.marquette.org.