SNEAK PEEK: 'Gilroy Today' Shows How Program Grows Local Leaders

Gilroy Patch got a sneak peek at some of the articles in Gilroy Today’s upcoming fall issue. Look for the full-color, quarterly magazine around town next week, and visit them on the Web if you just can’t wait!

This week, we’ll be bringing you teasers of some upcoming content, courtesy of editors J. Chris Mickartz and Larry J. Mickartz.

Leadership Gilroy

A training ground for Gilroy’s future leaders launches its 15^th year this fall

Leadership Gilroy, founded in 1997, is designed to develop leaders who will serve in the community and build Gilroy’s future.

Terry Newman, Leadership Gilroy Board president, said community leaders several years ago noticed that only a handful of people were doing all the work to shape the city’s future. They felt there was a need to develop a leadership program and studied other cities’ leadership programs.

Today, each Leadership Gilroy class is reflective of the community by way of gender, age group and ethnicity - and nearly ever sector of the business community, including health care, financial institutions, service organizations, real estate, and small and private businesses.

The class, typically made up of 20 to 24 members, undergoes a nine-month program consisting of three components: skills training, community awareness, and personal development. Topics for leadership training sessions, held one or two times a month, include: team building, communications, facilitative leadership styles, values and ethics, personal life balance, effective meetings, diversity and conflict resolution. Participants also complete a community project. Program leaders say graduates will be armed with the skills needed to serve on local boards and committees.