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History of Leadership Marshall County
 
Counties contiguous to Marshall County– St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko, and Fulton– had local leadership academies fo a number of years.  It was felt by several members of the United Way board that this was a much needed entity in our county.  In 1993, Bill Shustowski, then President of Ancilla College and a board member of the United Way, along with Everett Colvin, United Way board member and Dave Gibson, Marshall County Community Foundation board member, had a vision of creating a county leadership academy.
 
The primary purpose was to cultivate new board members for not-for-profit organizations in Marshall County.  The LMC program was designed to identify, motivate and develop community leaders through education and skills development, involving sessions taught by currently established leaders in Marshall County government, education, economic development, arts, tourism, health and human services and criminal justice.
 
Early in 1994, a joint committee of the United Way and the Communtiy Foundation explored the subject further and formed a steering committee from members of the United Way, Community Foundation, Ancilla College, Culver Academies, and the Bremen and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce.  The group developed a plan to begin the first leadership academy for Marshall County, and under the direction Gibson and Colvin, the charter class of “Leadership Marshall County” met for the first time in September, 1995.
 
Since then, the LMC steering committee has grown from six to fifteen members.  Care was exercised to ensure that all geographical areas of Marshall County were represented on the committee.  Members were chosen for their experience and expertise in the areas of business, economics, community service, education and leadership.  The continued growth of the program, whose mission and objectives are outlined in this website, has been impressive. Since the first class in 1995, LMC has trained over 240 community leaders for Marshall County.
 
 
Program Objectives

1. To expand the leadership potential and skills of participants through:
 
  • Educational programs designed to broaden participants' knowledge of Marshall County and critical issues affecting the county
  • Skill development sessions designed to strengthen those management and supervisory competencies necessary for individual success
     
  • Exposure to the existing leadership and civic organization
  • In-depth exchanges on relevant issues
 
2. To improve communication among leaders by facilitating the expansion of networks within both the public and private sectors of Marshall County.

3. To foster a commitment to a life of community service by providing a chance for participants to gain access to leadership opportunities, and become involved in helping to solve community problems.