Leadership North Iowa

About Leadership North Iowa

For the past 40 years, the Mason City Chamber of Commerce has provided leadership training for up-and-coming business people from the North Iowa area. In addition to skill development, Leadership North Iowa (LNI) participants meet well-established business owners and have the opportunity to pick their brains concerning best practices.
First and foremost, this program exposes participants to all North Iowa has to offer. At the same time, our goal is to engage Leadership North Iowa participants and alumni—to connect them to our community and to each other. LNI graduates are high-potential prospects that are well-poised to play a more prominent role in the community.
This can and does take many forms. For some, it may be the call to action to run for elective office. For others, participation may ignite the desire to seek an appointment to local government boards and commissions. It may provide the foundation to volunteer at a church or service club. It might even help people to assert themselves more in their place of work. Whichever direction our alumni choose to go, we know that Leadership North Iowa is often credited as the catalyst for becoming more actively involved in something they care about.

Service Project

For decades, sociologists have detailed the decline of America's civic engagement. They assert that American adults have gradually withdrawn from political and religious participation, lack significant workplace connections, and refrain from "neighboring".

Our LNI participants engage in new forms of "connecting" activities that are relevant to our present and future. The activities they chose as Community Impact Projects will encourage their fellow citizens to spend more time in active connection.

2023 LNI Project: Supporting Food Insecurity in North Iowa

This year’s Leadership North Iowa students selected a project focused on food insecurity in North Iowa. The group was approached by a new non-profit organization, North Iowa Mutual Aid, to assist with a community fridge program. The students met for weeks discussing how a community fridge would work, collecting input from area partners, researching best practices, and fundraising. Their original plan to have a separate, 24-hour structure to house a fridge, shifted mid-session to focus on a centralized indoor location at an existing business. Many great conversations took place around the community and the group was able to secure a location for the fridge at Prairie Ridge's downtown location.

The funds raised by the group were used to help purchase a fridge at Prairie Ridge and the class also distributed funds to two well-known local organizations who work in reducing food insecurity – Community Kitchen of North Iowa and Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank.

 

 

 

 

LEADERSHIP NORTH IOWA 2024

Tuition

Tuition for LNI is $495 for Chamber members or $600 for non-members, and includes  instruction fees, materials, refreshments, and a graduation reception. Tuition may be paid by the employer, sponsoring organizations, or by the participant. Participants are not charged until accepted into the program (there is no application fee).

Time Commitment

Each participant is expected to attend class sessions held every Wednesday from January 17 - April 24, with a graduation ceremony on May 1. A mandatory Picture Day will be held on Thursday, January 11, 2024.

At the time of acceptance into the program, participants and their employer will be asked to sign a commitment form for attendance.

Registration

Due to limited enrollment capacity (25), selections will be made based on an application process. The application includes a contact form, essay questions, and a commitment pledge due by December 1. There is no cost to apply.

Apply for LNI 2024

Please contact Allyson with any questions.

Class Session Topics

  • Networking & Building Relationships
  • Leadership & Personality Styles
  • Servant Leadership
  • Distribution in North Iowa
  • Education & Workforce
  • Public Service/Government & Citizenship
  • History & Tourism
  • Renewable Energy
  • Leadership vs. Management

2023 Leadership North Iowa Class Composite

For more information about LNI and each of the graduates, check out the Leadership Series publication by the Globe Gazette, featuring the 2022 Leadership North Iowa graduates.

Thank you to our 2023 LNI Sponsors!

 

 

 

 

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