Searching for aspiring leaders
Peace River Block Daily News, Dawson Creek, B.C.: March 1, 2007. p. 3.
Skilled labourers aren't the only people in short supply these days in the Peace region.
Leaders are also needed in today's changing climate of aging baby boomers, according to Community Futures general manager Sue Kenny.
Dawson Creek is one of three communities in B.C. that has been chosen to participate in a pilot program to teach a cross-section of 20 people from the area about the skills involved in leading and mentoring others.
Kenny said getting chosen to host the program is similar to winning a scholarship. After being nominated as a host community for the program called Building Leadership in Communities, Community Futures helped put together a proposal detailing why Dawson Creek was a good candidate for the training program.
Kenny said it was the city's enthusiasm that impressed the training program's creators - the Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership, a non-profit with a mandate to help organizations and communities reach their potential.
" Dawson Creek is the same as anywhere else, there's volunteer burn-out and you don't see too many youth leaders," she said on Tuesday.
She explained the volunteer base in many cities across the province, including Dawson Creek, is shrinking as people get older and either can't or don't want to use up all their personal time volunteering.
So for two days every month over a six-month period, 20 of Dawson Creek's own will get to experience an unique training program where it's hoped they learn how to become effective and fair leaders within their community.
An organizing committee is taking shape, and so far includes Dawson Creek city councillor Marilyn Belak, Kiwanis Enterprise Centre manager Doris Brocke and Pouce Coupe village councillor Malcolm Supernault, among others.
Currently, the committee is setting up a nomination process where groups such as non-profit organizations, businesses and local governments can submit who they think would be the right person for the training program.
"We'd like to see 50-60 nominations," Kenny said.
On Monday night, a meeting was held at the Dawson Creek Curling Club where Kenny gave a power point presentation outlining a strategy to host and facilitate the training to get underway in September this year. She hopes the nomination process wraps up sometime in April, with final selections finished by the end of May.
"Without people who can lead, organizations fall apart or die off," Kenny said. "You can have a great organization, doing great things, but because of volunteer burnout or the kind of leadership, you can see organizations go bankrupt."
Without people with a vision, how can there be a plan for the future, Kenny questioned.
"It's crucial," she said.
