Leadership Tri-County class completes 10 months of work
More than 200 have participated in training since 1993
Amid the area’s high school and college graduations, another group is graduating this week. The 2017 Leadership Tri-County class has completed its 10-month program.
Before the 15-member class held its graduation ceremony Thursday afternoon, members of the class presented their individual projects at the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce membership breakfast Thursday morning.
Leadership Tri-County is administered through the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation Inc. The program began in 1993, and has graduated more than 200 community members.
“It’s mission is to sustain community participation and involvement by training and providing new and emerging leaders to be able to go out and serve on nonprofit boards,” said Kitty Papp, program director and 2008 Leadership TriCounty graduate.
Area non-profit organizations submit projects to the chamber — areas where they need some help but may not have staff. Leadership Tri-County class members take those projects on. The class meets monthly from September through June, according to Papp.
“Our first meeting always focuses on the projects that have been submitted by the non-profits. Then the members discuss which project they would like to work on,” she said.
Once the projects are chosen and teams organized, the teams work with the individual nonprofits.
“Once they have finished working on their projects, they go out and serve on the board of directors of a nonprofit,” Papp added.
This year’s class broke into seven groups to work on projects for: Greater Pottstown Tennis and Learning; Hip Hop Inc., Pottstown Historical Society, Pottstown Parks and Recreation Foundation, Wellness Council of Boyertown, YWCA Tri-County and Volunteering Together — Children and Their Families Make a Difference.
Howard Brown of the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation and Jennifer Gilbert of The Victory Bank prepared a marketing video for Greater Pottstown Tennis and Learning.
“Throughout the process of making this video, we were able to learn more about GPTL. We learned they are not only keeping kids active — they are teaching them life skills and building their confidence,” Gilbert said.
Liz Peters of TriCounty Area Federal Credit Union, Melissa Shainline of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce and Dinell Smith of Sealstrip Corp. created a bully free zone for Hip Hop Inc.
The group worked to establish partnerships with local businesses and organizations to become bully free.
“What is that? It is a place where local youth can feel safe — knowing that bullying will not be tolerated there,” Smith said.
Each zone with feature anti bullying materials displayed on wall posters and there will be information pamphlets available with contact.
The first phase of the project was to create awareness with businesses, and the second phase was a bake sale with Hip Hop Kids.
The third and final phase was a T-shirt designed by Pottstown High School student Julian Weber, that “expresses what Hip Hop’s message was all about,” according to Peters.
Craig Colistra of the Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation and Christina Weller of Pottstown Memorial Medical Center worked to develop a strategic plan for the Pottstown Parks and Recreation Foundation
“They sought assistance for a strategic plan focused on growth and sustainability. They wanted to know where they could go — where they could be in three years,” Colistra said.
Andie Graham of the Borough of Pottstown and Joyce Weand of Pottstown Area Rapid Transit developed a Marketing — How To guide for the Wellness Council of Boyertown.
The project focused on developing a strategic marketing plan that involved social media.
“They already had the tools, they just needed guidance on how to use them,” Graham said.
Laura Justiniano, MEMOR Coaching and Consulting created a new website for the Pottstown Historical Society — www. pottstownhistory.org
Wendy Gaynor, Chester County Food Bank and Nicole Martinez, Schultz Technology created a marketing plan for the YWCA TriCounty’s “Understanding the Exchange” initiative.
The pair created marketing materials and a brochure for the initiative, which is still in the development stages.
Josh Pestrauskas of Wrigley’s Business Products and Services, Natalee Sassaman of Pottstown Borough and Jill Vincent of the Wellness Council of Boyertown created Volunteering Together — Children and Their Families Make a Difference.
The project sought to identify volunteer opportunities for children aged 12 and under. In doing research, Sassaman said volunteers in that age group are more effective when they work together with family.
“This is something we are really passionate about,” Petrauskas said. “We are currently seeking an organization to house us. All of the ground work has been laid out — all that is left is to maintain and continue to find volunteer opportunities.”
Chamber President Eileen Dautrich said the chamber is recruiting members for next year’s class. Two information sessions have been scheduled — June 21 from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and July 12 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the chamber office, 152 E. High St., Suite 360.
Dautrich also said the chamber is looking for project submissions from area non-profit organizations.
For more information, to register as a candidate or to submit a project call 610326-2900 or visit www.tricountyareachamber.com .