Chamber announces Leadership In Practice scholarship winners

LEADERSHIP IN PRACTICE – The Chamber’s Leadership in Practice program is designed to provide young people with the opportunity to learn characteristics of excellent leadership, entrepreneurship and life skills so they can apply those skills in their own lives when they return to their schools and communities.

Chamber President Travis Farran announced the winners of the first El Dorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Leadership in Practice Program Scholarship and said “A regular topic of community discussion is training our youth to be the next generation of local leaders and encouraging young leaders to return and apply those skills in El Dorado Springs. Recently Avery Schiereck and Kayla Penn received the scholarships. These bright El Dorado Springs students will attend the Chamber sponsored leadership program at Westminster College in Fulton later this month where they will receive a hands-on experience in leadership, using real-life activities and challenges to prepare them for success in high school, college and beyond.”

The Leadership in Practice program was developed over 21 years ago by the Missouri Chamber Foundation to engage Missouri high school students in hands on, real world leadership training. Now for four days each June, Missouri’s brightest high school freshmen and sophomore student leaders come together to learn the characteristics and tools that tomorrow’s leaders need to meet the challenges of an ever changing world. Leadership in Practice has become of the state’s premier leadership immersion programs.

One of the key components to the success of Leadership in Practice is the advanced concepts and theories of leadership and entrepreneurship that students are introduced to during the program. Students are introduced to content straight from top tier MBA and professional leadership development programs. Broken down in digestible segments, students learn about the basic four frameworks of leadership- Political leadership, Structural leadership, Symbolic leadership and Human Resource leadership. They also learn the ethical decision making process, key principles of entrepreneurship and innovative thought process, global leadership via a mock Model UN Session, 21st century skills and many other advanced leadership concepts.

Chamber of Commerce CEO Jackson Tough said “The Missouri Chamber’s Leadership in Practice (LIP) Program offers skill sets that are highly valuable for our community’s youth. We plan to offer two of our brightest freshman/sophomore students a hands-on experience in leadership each summer.” The El Dorado Springs Chamber of Commerce organized this opportunity with great thanks to these supporting sponsors of our youth, and our community’s future: Evans Drug, Toshua McCormick State Farm Insurance, Bland Funeral Home, Bob and Glenda Baker, El Dorado Springs Optimist Club, Mid Missouri Bank and Travis Farran Shelter Insurance. Without these chamber members that care about our community these types of programs would never see the light of day.”

More About Leadership In Practice

The best way to develop leadership skills is to practice, practice, practice. For four days each June, that’s exactly what Missouri’s brightest freshmen and sophomore student leaders do in Leadership in Practice. The program is designed to provide young people with the opportunity to learn characteristics of excellent leadership, entrepreneurship and life skills so they can apply those skills in their own lives when they return to their schools and communities.

The program includes:

• Presentations by top business and civic leaders

• Challenging simulations and activities

• Small group discussions

• Strong focus on personal growth

The program covers five focus areas:

• Global leadership

• Civic leadership

• Economic leadership

• Ethical leadership

• Personal leadership

Chamber Executive Board/R-2 Schools Assistant Superintendent Dr. Theresa Christian summarized, “One of the most important things our chamber can do is to nurture our youth to be leaders in our community. Leadership in Practice is one way for the community to foster leadership development for our future.”