Follow the Leader

Late last summer, I attended the first class of Leadership Oconee. The program, facilitated by the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce, offers area business people the opportunity to hone their leadership skills while learning about various facets of the community, all while working in small groups on a community service project. Maybe that sounds like what you'd expect from a chamber program.

What you wouldn't expect when you walk into that first meeting is the opportunity to meet people you may not encounter - educators, business owners, bankers, professionals - in your everyday life. People from an array of backgrounds - like long-time residents and recent additions; a range of ages - from recent college grads to the parents of soon-to-be college grads; and with a variety of goals, from getting to know the community better to cultivating business contacts.

Through a series of monthly meetings, our motley crew learned about personal accountability, education, law enforcement, emergency services, economic development, and agriculture. An all-day trip to the capitol provided us with an eyewitness account of the state legislature in action. And the blustery November day spent at a Covington ropes course made us better problem-solvers, team-players, and, well, great debaters on whose leadership we should follow.

Our small group service project raised funds for Extra Special People's summer camp, produced a commercial and a promotional brochure for the new senior center, and compiled a directory of the community's churches for Hands On Northeast Georgia.

In the end, we learned about our great community; hopefully, we made it a little better. Best of all, we left not just leaders, but friends. We graduated last week, but we plan to keep up those monthly meetings - just maybe not in the middle of the agricultural research center's watershed.

If you are living or working in Oconee County, you should consider Leadership Oconee, now accepting applications for LOXIII. (And if you live or work in Athens, check out the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce L.E.A.D. Athens program.) Even if you don't think you're a leader, you might be surprised. If you care about the community, want to know more about it and to feel better equipped to have a positive impact on where you live and work, you're a candidate. And don't let the unlucky 13th year scare you from seizing this opportunity - I guarantee you'll be lucky to have the experience.