Lessons in Leadership
Leadership Butler County came of legal age this year, turning 21. And it is thriving.
While less robust leadership programs have struggled, suffering hard times or combining with others to survive, Leadership Butler County often has a waiting list for its class, said Stan Kosciuszko, president of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the program.
“I think it creates awareness among business people who can make a difference,” said Kosciuszko, explaining that the training might encourage alumni to volunteer for a nonprofit agency or join an organization's board that they might not have joined otherwise.
The program accepts only 24 students each year and costs $1,500. Part of its appeal is its 12-session, nine-month curriculum which follows the school year, beginning classes in September and graduating students in June.
“The program evolves every year,” Kosciuszko said.
For example, during Kosciuszko's tenure at the chamber, program sessions have been added to cover executive presentation skills and business expansions in the northern and southern parts of the county, he said.
But perhaps the biggest addition is the annual class project established in 2004, which gives class members the opportunity to implement the community leadership skills they've learned.
Through fundraising activities, classes have raised awareness of and thousands of dollars for nonprofit organizations. These include such projects as furnishing apartments for homeless persons, building a children's room at the Community Health Clinic and distributing emergency kits to senior citizens.
Kosciuszko said that level of commitment is not surprising for the county.
“I've seen a sense of cooperation in the business community that is not present in other counties,” he said. “There's a willingness to help each other and to ask each other for help.”Although he can't say for certain, the county's “spirit of cooperation” may have its roots in the demise of Pullman Standard and other heavy industry, he said.“Butler County has gone through a lot of transition,” Kosciuszko said of its loss of jobs in the past and then the addition of new positions. “It's back on its feet.”The county's business reinvention encompasses a spectrum of undertakings that are its strength, he said, and protect it from a downturn in any one sector.This diversity is reflected in the program's participants, he said. Alumni are members of multiple networks, including business, labor, education, the professions, the arts, religion, human services, and health care.In addition, he credits the program's other partners, which are the United Way of Butler County, Butler County Community College, the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau and Slippery Rock University.“The program has become successful because of its partners,” he said.Together they've mustered the resources to give the program a reputation for being time well spent.
Here's a look at some of the monthly sessions that comprise the program.• A two-day orientation includes a personality assessment that gives participants insight into their team building and leadership skills• A low-impact physical challenge course at SRU teaches each class members to work together and to learn each others' names• Human Services and Volunteerism Day gives participants a look at human service organizations• On Media and the Political Process Day, the class tours media facilities and hears from state and local government representatives• Government Day takes participants around the Butler County Government Center area on South Main Street to visit elected officials, the Butler County Historical Society and the county prison• On Southern Butler County Day, the class meets with executives from Westinghouse, Mine Safety Appliances, the Regional Learning Alliance, Marburger Dairy, BASF and the county tourism bureau• Health Care Day is a tour of Butler Memorial Hospital, Concordia, VA Butler Healthcare and other facilities• Education Day has the class visit pre-kindergarten, primary and secondary schools and BC3• The Northern Butler County tour includes Iron Mountain, Calumet/Penreco, North Country Brewing and SRU• The Quality of Life tour introduces participants to entertainment, recreational and cultural resources, including the Lernerville Speedway, the Saxonburg Arts Center, the Audubon Society and the Butler Little Theatre.
<B><I>To apply to Leadership Butler County, contact the Butler County Chamber of Commerce at 724-283-2222. Submit a completed application to: Leadership Butler County, P.O. Box 1082, Butler, PA 16003-1082.</I></B>
