'Leadership Spencer' set to begin

Local residents will have the chance to get a broader view of civic leadership through the Spencer Chamber of Commerce's "Leadership Spencer" program.

The 11-week, late afternoon program begins March 2.

Spencer businessman Kevin Robinson said the Leadership Spencer program is suited for "anyone who is willing to show up with a positive attitude and put the time in."

"The benefits of the program would be that you get a holistic understanding of how the community pieces fit together," he said.

Robinson is CEO of Kalissa Communications, a caller ID technology company. He also serves as a business coach and consultant and has taken an active role in Leadership Spencer in years past.

"If you go through the program, you're going to understand on a macro level how a community functions and why they function the way they do," Robinson said. "Specifically, as it relates to Spencer, you find out what the role of utilities are in town, what the role of the city and county government is in town, what the role of some of the key services and businesses are in town. You get exposed and you get access to some of the businesses and organizations in town that you wouldn't normally see from a day-to-day operations standpoint. You get the behind-the-scenes functionality of it."

The cost of the course is $165 and the first 25 registered participants receive a 15 percent discount. The series is limited to 40 participants. Classes are held from 3-5 p.m. and participants can only have one excused absence to be eligible for graduation.

The topics covered include utilities services, education, arts and culture, local governments, industry and economic development, health care, social activity, agriculture, recreation and law enforcement.

The manufacturing and economic development unit typically receives the most feedback.

"It's a topic that gets talked about a lot," Robinson said. "People throw economic development terms around a lot, but they really don't understand or haven't really been involved in the process of economic development or manufacturing. We have a pretty big manufacturing base, but very rarely does anyone get on opportunity to sit down with the owners of a company and hear their perspective and why they run things the way they run them."

Participants will be asked to be involved in a class project outside the scheduled class time. Robinson said the series reinforced his decision to live in Spencer.

"It's small enough to be a hometown," he said. "You feel very comfortable and you feel like you have access to contribute. It's also a large enough town that you can delve into a specific area of involvement, if you want, as well. If you're an artist and you live in some towns, you might only have three colors to paint with. But I think when you live in Spencer you have a full pallet."

Additional information about Leadership Spencer is available by calling Denice Hicks at the Spencer Chamber of Commerce. Her number is (712) 262-5680.