NEK Leadership Summits

What should be done to encourage and support community leadership in the Northeast Kingdom? How can one reach out to inspire more and different kinds of people to become leaders? Northeast Kingdom Collaborative is seeking answers to these questions and other ideas about how to broaden leadership and strengthen leaders in the region. Members of the collaborative’s Task Force on Leadership Development invite anyone and everyone interested in these topics to three leadership summits they are,

July 25, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington.

July 26, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Kingdom Taproom in St. Johnsbury.

August 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Essex House in Island Pond.

The NEK Collaborative launched the leadership development task force in May to assist in developing the next generation of local civic and business leaders. In November, the task force will present a set of action steps to be carried out over the coming year. The three information-gathering summits are an important part of the process, said Executive Director Katherine Sims.

“We know there are real barriers to getting involved, and we want to hear from as many people as possible about what they are and the most effective ways to overcome them,” Ms. Sims said.

The NEK leadership summits will include food, time to meet and socialize with other participants, and free childcare provided by a local community partner. There will be a short welcome followed by small group discussions to allow all voices to be heard. Highlights from the discussion will be reported back to the larger group, which will then vote on the most promising next steps.

The members of the NEK Collaborative’s Task Force on Leadership Development are:

John Castle, superintendent of schools at North Country Supervisory Union; Elaine Collins, president of Northern Vermont University; Abigail Long, executive director of Kingdom Trails; Tom Lovett, headmaster of St. Johnsbury Academy; Rose Reynolds, director of Lyndon Economic Opportunity AmeriCorps Program; Ellen Rowe, director of community and leadership development at UVM Extension; Patrick Sodums, vice-chair of the NEK Young Professionals Network and conference and corporate sales manager at Burke Mountain; Michael Strait, chair of the town of Brighton select board; Michelle Tarryk, director of Northeast Kingdom Learning Services, Inc.; Molly Veysey, director of the Old Stone House Museum; Maria Young, education director of the Northwood Stewardship Center; and Sam Young, state representative and Independent Allied.

Northeast Kingdom Collaborative is a cooperative project of over a dozen public and private, for-profit and non profit organizations that have been working together to promote economic and community development in the region for almost 30 years. The NEK Collaborative is a convener and leader of collective action for the benefit of the communities of the Northeast Kingdom. Its task force process is supported by United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the Vermont Community Foundation, Vermont Housing and Conversation Board, and local business partners. –– from Northeast Kingdom Collaborative.