VisionWorks' Breakthrough Solutions
Community and Regional Success Stories
Leadership Crawford County Going Strong – September 2001
Congratulations to Leadership Crawford County for a terrific
leadership development program, now in its third year. Cathy Gifford
(cgifford@aol.com), a member of the Van Buren VISION 2010 Leadership
Team, has spearheaded this initiative.
"Cathy has done a fabulous job," states Berni Kurz, County
Extension Agent in the Crawford County office. "One of the things
that came out of our visioning process was that there were not
enough people to take on leadership positions in the community, and
this is a response to that need expressed by the community." The
alumni from the first two classes will be meeting soon to form an
alumni organization to address the needs of the county.
"I am overwhelmed with the impact that is already taking place,"
states program coordinator Cathy Gifford. "We stress that
participants should make a difference where they want to, and that
is what is happening. We now have individuals from other communities
in Arkansas who are starting programs. I show them how to start a
program with no budget."
The closing retreat for this year’s class this summer included
- "What’s Your Shape" with Bill Gregory
- "Goal Setting" by Bill Gregory and Cathy Gifford
- "Life Skills/Team Building Activities" by Mike Klumpp
- a celebration dinner
- reviewing the Fish video by Pat Bardsley,
- "The Skill of Fly Fishing" by Brian Dobbins
- a nature walk by Charity Hansford, an interpreter at Lake Fort
Smith.
Keynote speaker for the retreat was Ms. Pat Lile, President of the
Arkansas Community Foundation and a VISION 2010 Partner. "The first
and last task of a leader is to keep hope alive," stated Lile.
"Leaders have a VIP quality: V stands for vision, I stands for
involvement, and P stands for persistence. A leader is a salesperson
for the dream."
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