Leadership Elk & Cameron Announces Community Improvement Projects for 2017-2018
 
The Community Education Center’s Leadership Elk & Cameron program (LEC) has selected its Community Projects for the 2017-2018 program year. The objective of the project is to provide LEC participants with an opportunity to learn how to make a direct and visible impact in their communities through service to an organization or agency. “We consistently hear that nonprofits and public agencies need added capacity and help for certain short term projects,” said Kate Brock, executive director of the CEC and Leadership Elk & Cameron Advisory Committee.
 
This year’s agencies and their projects include: Elk County Footlighters – assistance with marketing and planning of events and performances; Penn State 4H – recruitment of adult volunteers to start and lead additional 4H clubs; LIFT – marketing, awareness and fundraising for Project Lifesaver, which is a GPS tracking bracelet for individuals who tend to wander with disabilities and conditions such as autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia; West Creek Rails Trails –installation of bird box mile markers on 13 miles of the trail which connects Elk and Cameron Counties; City of St. Marys – assistance with the development of the City’s proposed Central Park area on Depot Street.
 
Three to five participants will work as a team under the direction of the organization to complete the service projects through June 2018. Charitable organizations, nonprofit agencies, schools, and municipalities which serve Elk or Cameron County were invited to apply for a team of LEC participants to assist in making progress on real projects which benefit the community. Special consideration is given to applications which address the areas of need identified in the 2015 Stackpole-Hall Foundation Long Range Planning Report and Action Plan. More information and the application can be obtained by visiting www.leadershipelkcounty.com or by calling the CEC at 814-781-3437.
 
The mission of Leadership Elk County is to educate its participants in the strengths and weaknesses of the county in order to develop informed, civic-oriented volunteers to help direct the future of Elk and Cameron Counties. More than 145 alumni have completed the program since 2007.
 
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The Community Education Center’s Leadership Elk & Cameron Program welcomed its Eleventh Class of participants this month. An evening mixer, sponsored by Northwest Bank and Straub Brewery, was held on September 12th at the Bavarian Hills in St. Marys. The first monthly session followed on September 13th at the Pines Lodge and was sponsored in part by Advantage Metal Powders in Ridgway. The ten month program is aimed at educating its participants in the strengths and weaknesses of Elk and Cameron Counties in order to develop informed, civic oriented volunteers to help direct the future of the region. 
This month’s first session focused on assessing the individual participants’ personality styles; team building activities; and communication strategies for working with diverse personalities. Terry Hinton, Advising Coordinator for Penn State Dubois led the session. In addition, Jonathan Johnson, Senior Staff Analyst for the Center for Rural PA, provided a presentation on the demographic and economic trends of the region. Five nonprofit agencies also presented their community improvement projects to the participants: West Creek Rail Trails, City of St. Marys, LIFT, Penn State 4H, and Elk County Footlighters.
The 2017-2018 Leadership Elk & Cameron participants are sponsored by their employers which include: the Boys & Girls of St. Marys, Cameron County Conservation District, the City of St. Marys, Community Links, Dickinson Center, Elk County Council on the Arts, LEDVANCE, Liberty Pressed Metals, Northwest Bank, St. Marys Area School District, and Straub Brewery.
More information about the program can be found at www.leadershipelkcounty.com, or by contacting the CEC at (814) 781-3437.