Early photo of the class of 2006... click for a closer view.
Click photo to see a closer view.

Trailblazers... Front Row: Deb Merritt, Scott Washburn, Julie Jones, Charity Austin, Cathie Chalfant; Middle Row: Corey Lesher, Gordon Becton, Allison Strong, Carol Mathes, Maggie Reever, Becky Simpson, Jeanette Kragel; Back Row: Wayne Voltmer, Michael Ritter, Bruce Burdick, Sean Burge, Eric Woodward, James Gardner, Weldon Wilhoit, Ann Schlueter, David Waltemath, Chad Davis, Jan Schwarz, Tammy Thompson

Click here to see our graduates of the Class of 2006!

Class Project 2006

Participant Comments of the Class of 2006.

Charity Austin
Worth County Economic Development
Economic Developer
Grant City

Gordon Becton
Premium Standard Farms
Communication Supervisor
Princeton

Bruce Burdick
University of Missouri
Superintendent – Hundley Whaley Research Center
Albany

Sean Burge
City of Trenton
Community Development Director
Trenton

Cathie Chalfant
Northwest Region Workforce Investment Board/North Central Missouri College
Operations Manager
Trenton

Chad Davis
Trenton Municipal Utilities
Utility Director
Trenton

Dr. James Gardner
North Central Missouri College
Dean of Instruction
Trenton

Julie Jones
Hedrick Medical Center
Chief Nursing Officer
Chillicothe

Jeanette Kragel
Northwest Missouri Area Health Education Center
Recruitment Coordinator
St. Joseph

Corey Lesher
USDA, Farm Service Agency
County Executive Director
Rock Port

Carol Mathes
Heartland Foundation
Executive Assistant
St. Joseph

Deb Merritt
MERIL
Executive Director
St. Joseph

Maggie Reever
Community Services, Inc.
Employment and Training Director
Maryville

Michael Ritter
Missouri Western State University
Disability Services Coordinator
St. Joseph

Ann Schlueter
Atchison County Development Corporation
Executive Director
Rock Port

Jan Schwarz
American Lung Association of Missouri
Senior Regional Programs Director
Gower

Becky Simpson
University of Missouri Extension
4-H Youth Development Specialist
Gallatin

Allison Strong
St. Francis Hospital & Health Services
Development Specialist
Maryville

Tammy Thompson
St. Francis Hospital & Health Services
Director of Patient Accounting and Access Management
Maryville

Wayne Voltmer
Holt County 
Presiding Commissioner
Craig

David Waltemath
Citizens Bank & Trust
Business Development and Loan Officer
King City

Scott Washburn
Law Office of Scott Washburn, LLC
City Attorney – Chillicothe
Chillicothe

Weldon Wilhoit
Prudential Snook, REALTORS
Realtor
Cameron

Eric Woodward
A & W Farms
Farm Manager
Carrollton

Executive Director:

Deb Powers
Heartland Foundation
Director of Healthy Communities
3620 Frederick Avenue
St. Joseph, MO 64506
816.271.7185
Email


TIME COMMITMENT AND CLASS MEETING DATES
Classes will meet monthly beginning with a two-day retreat in St. Joseph on January 18th and 19th. They will continue at locations throughout the region on February 16th, March 16th, April 13th, May 11th, and June 8th. Graduation will be the evening of June 29th, to be followed by an optional project retreat on July 13th.

Classes begin at 9 a.m. and will adjourn by 4 p.m. Also, there will be required evening activities on January 18th.

  • January 18-19 – St. Joseph
    Retreat – Stoney Creek Inn 
    Team Building/Personality Styles 
    Introduction to Leadership and The Leadership Challenge
  • February 16 - Fairfax (Moved to Feb. 23 due to inclement weather)
    Issue – Healthcare
  • March 16 - Stanberry
    Issue – Infrastructure/Entrepreneurial Support Systems
  • April 13 – Chillicothe 
    Issue – Education of the Workforce/Economic Development/Youth Empowerment
  • May 11 – Maryville
    MOERA (Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area)
    Issue – Recreation/Quality of Life
  • June 8 - Jamesport
    Issue – Legislative Process
    Year-end Wrap-up
  • June 29 – St. Joseph
    Graduation – 6:00 p.m. at the Benton Club
  • July 13
    Optional Class Project Retreat – Location TBD

Attendance at all sessions is required!* You are expected to attend every session. However, you will be allowed to be absent from one session with prior approval and permission of the Executive Director. An absence is missing a whole session or any part thereof. If you miss more than the one approved absence; you will need to make up the applicable session(s) the following year in order to graduate.

*New attendance policy effective with Class of 2005.


Almost 25 business and community leaders from around northwest Missouri gathered at the Grand River Inn in Chillicothe for a Leadership Northwest Missouri Class. The program is designed to bring together participants from throughout the region to improve their leadership skills and explore regional issues. Several Chillicothe leaders made comments to the class on economic development during the event, which also included a bus tour of Chillicothe.

C-T Photo/Laura Schuler

Leadership Class Makes Tour Stop in Chillicothe
Thursday, April 13, 2006

The Leadership Northwest Missouri Class of 2006 held their class at the Grand River Inn in Chillicothe today (Thursday). Coordinators of this event were: Dean Brookshier, deputy chief of staff, U.S. Congressman Sam Graves' Office; Eva Danner, presiding Livingston County Commissioner; and Lurinda Turner, assistant vice president of Citizens Bank & Trust in Trenton. All three are alumni of the Leadership Northwest Missouri Program.

Leadership Northwest Missouri is a program designed to bring together participants from throughout the region to hone their leadership skills, explore regional issues and gain a network of contacts throughout the region.

The class will continue through June with sessions held in various communities throughout the region. Each session will include instruction on various leadership skills, in depth examinations of various issues facing the region and hands-on experiential exercises. Regional issues addressed today were economic development and education of the workforce.

Economic development issues were presented by Barb Burton, executive vice president of the Chillicothe Area Chamber of Commerce; Pam Jarding, Main Street Chillicothe director; Amy Supple, tourism director for the Greater Chillicothe Visitors Region; Tom Chapman, Chillicothe Development Corporation president. A bus tour of Chillicothe was led by Todd Rodenburg, mayor; Terry Rumery, economic developer, president and owner of Rumery & associates; Ed Turner, EST Enterprises. After lunch, Becky Steele, director, workforce investment board at North Central Missouri College, discussed education of the workforce.

The 2006 class includes 24 outstanding, emerging and established leaders from the northwest Missouri region including: Charity Austin, Worth County Economic Development, Grant City; Gordon Becton, Premium Standard Farms, Princeton; Bruce Burdick, University of Missouri, Hundley Whaley Center, Albany; Sean Burge, City of Trenton, Cathie Chalfant, Northwest Workforce Investment Board, North Central Missouri College, Trenton; Chad Davis, Trenton Municipal Utilities; Maggie Reever, Community Services, Inc., Maryville; Michael Ritter, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph; Ann Schlueter, Atchison County Development Corporation, Rock Port; Jan Schwarz, American Lung Association of Missouri, Gower; Becky Simpson, University of Missouri Extension, Gallatin; Allison Strong, St. Francis Hospital and Health Services, Maryville; Dr. James Gardner, North Central Missouri College, Trenton; Julie Jones, Hedrick Medical Center, Chillicothe; Jeanette Kragel, NWMO Area Health Education.


Leadership Class Takes a Climb
By The Daily Forum - TED HARBIN/Daily Forum

CAPTION: Jeanette Cragel of St. Joseph, dangling from the top as she descends, and Eric Woodward, above left with the red helmet, were two of the Leadership Northwest Missouri lass members who climbed the Mozingo Outdoor Education and Recreation Area Challenge Course Thursday afternoon.

The Leadership Northwest Missouri Class of 2006 participated in a session at the Mozingo Outdoor Education and Recreation Area Challenge Course on Thursday, May 11, 2006. The class brings together participants from throughout the region to hone their leadership skills, explore regional issues and gain a network of contacts throughout the region. The 2006 class includes 24 outstanding, emerging and established leaders from northwest Missouri.

The class sessions began with a retreat in January and will continue through June with sessions in various communities throughout the region. Each session will include instruction on various leadership skills, in-depth examinations of various issues facing the region and hands-on experiential exercises. The regional issues addressed at Thursday's session were recreational and quality of life.

Registration for the 2007 class is now under way.

For more information, contact Deb Powers at the Heartland Foundation, (816) 271-7200.

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For more information, contact:
Deb Powers, Executive Director, Leadership Northwest Missouri

Director of Healthy Communities
Heartland Foundation
518 S. 6th Street, St. Joseph, MO 64501
Phone: 816-271-7185
Toll-Free: 1-800-447-1083
Fax: 816-271-7269

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