Leadership, Leadership, Leadership. What a wonderful word!  And what a wonderful attribute that so many in our business community share with others.

I’m excited to announce that we are bringing our leadership programs back in-person this fall.  We released the applications for Leadership Fort Collins Class of 2021-2022 this morning and are looking forward to working with an amazing steering committee of LFC alumni to continue to produce a dynamic, hands-on, behind the scenes experience for 30 leaders in our community.  You can learn about the program here and the application can be found here. The deadline to apply is Monday, August 16 at 5:00 p.m.

In addition to announcing the 2021-2022 Leadership Fort Collins program, we also announced the return of in-person programming for our 2020 Leadership Northern Colorado class.  This team of leaders from across the two-county area enjoyed orientation and two sessions in-person before we had to pivot to online experiences.  We quickly learned that we could share good information with our hearty team, but were missing the “spark” that comes from being together.  We put the program on hold in June of 2020 and are excited to bring these amazing people back together to learn, grow and inspire!

Keep an eye out for information about their graduation celebration.  It will be open to the public on November 16 at Windsong.  Details are being finalized now – but put a hold on your breakfast calendar as Josh Packard, PhD, will be joining us to challenge your perspective and insights!  And we will release applications for the 2022 Leadership Northern Colorado program later this fall.

My last nod to Leadership is to celebrate the eleven women that will be recognized at the BizWest Women of Distinction ceremony on August 26 at TPC in Berthoud.  The Chamber has long been a supporter of this program that recognizes the leadership and achievement of women in our region.  This years list of honorees is among the best ever.  Shout out to Julie Piopho, Adams Bank & Trust; Nicole Staudinger, FirstBank; Vallene Kailburn, Old Town Media, Inc.; Jessica Thrasher, CSU Colorado Stormwater Center; Debby Baker, Community Grief Center; Stacy Miller, Town of Windsor; Vickilee Einhellig, Good Day Pharmacy; Sylvia Robinson, Tolmar, Inc.; Ana Yelen, Healing Warriors Program; Linae Warden, Northern Colorado Networking Group and Amy Rushing, Kittle Real Estate.

I’ve had the amazing pleasure of working with just about every woman on this list – and I can tell you that they are the strongest, most thoughtful women in Northern Colorado.  We are incredibly fortunate to have these powerful gals sharing their leadership with our region and to see them join the past recipients of the Women of Distinction honor.  You can learn more about the honorees and the celebration here.  I hope you are able to join in celebrating these wonderful women!