The thirty members of the 2014 Class of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program (IALP) successfully completed a seminar on “Professionalism: Leadership Skills & Opportunities” held in Bloomington and Normal, Illinois. The two-day event was hosted by Illinois State University and GROWMARK, Inc. on November 8 and 9, 2012.
There were six main educational sessions attended by participants. The first day of the seminar included sessions focused on interpersonal leadership skills: “Making Proper Introductions” presented by Larry Fischer, Retired Vice President of Instruction, John Wood Community College; “Communicating Through Leading,” presented by Dr. Richard Ringer of the Organizational Leadership Institute, College of Business, Illinois State University; and Gary Little, President & Chief Operating Officer of Agra-Placements, Ltd. of Lincoln, Illinois presented a seminar on “Exploring Your Communication Style.”
The second day of the seminar included presentations focused on various ways to provide leadership within an organization or community. Participants heard a series of presentations on “Leadership Opportunities” from Lyn Hruska, Executive Director, American Red Cross of the Heartland; Randy Grove (IALP 1990), Board Member, McDonough Telephone Cooperative; Dave Winters (IALP 1992), retired State Representative and retired farmer; and Rod Weinzierl, Executive Director, Illinois Corn Growers/Illinois Corn Marketing Boards. Chet Esther, Jr. (IALP 2008), Secretary of GROWMARK, Inc. Board of Directors and President of Two Rivers FS, Inc. presented a skill-development session on “Meeting Management for Leaders.” The seminar concluded with an alumni panel discussing their individual leadership paths. Panelists were Kent Kleinschmidt (IALP 1986), Chairman, Illinois Corn Marketing Board; Jeff Lynch (IALP 2012), Treasurer, GROWMARK, Inc.; Brian Puetz (IALP 2002), Regional Manager, Illinois Farm Bureau; and Wendell Shauman (IALP 1984), Chairman, U.S. Grains Council.
The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program is a two-year comprehensive education series that develops knowledgeable and effective leaders to become policy and decision makers for the agricultural industry. The program is funded by the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization comprising individuals, companies, organizations and institutional partners. Program participants are selected from diverse backgrounds in Illinois agriculture, and program graduates have attained the highest level positions in the nation’s leading agribusiness corporations.
For more information on the program or foundation, please contact IALF at (309) 837-7711 or go to www.agleadership.org.
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