The Park City community (School District Boundaries) is one of the fastest growing resort areas in the country. Approximately 1/3 of the residents have resided here less than three years, and more newcomers are arriving daily. In the past several years, almost 1000 new arrivals yearly have made the Park City area their home. CommunityVision '93 (in which residents meeting in 'living rooms' discussed the future of the city) challenged local governments and civic organizations to foster a greater sense of participation and leadership in creating Park City's future. A troubling 'knowledge gap' was identified between what residents said they wanted and their ability to achieve common goals. A key recommendation of the CommunityVision process was to identify, encourage and train a group of new or emerging community leaders.
Leadership Park City is intended to address this need. It is patterned after other successful community leadership programs around the country and the Kellogg National Leadership Program sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. These programs offer potential leaders an experiential, long-term, group-oriented learning opportunity. Their goal is to broaden and deepen the pool of community-based leaders, people who will dedicate themselves to accomplishing worthwhile community goals with a sense of vision, purpose, excitement and common good.
Purpose
Leadership Park City is a program designed to identify and train talented individuals to assume leadership roles. All those with a desire to learn more about the challenges facing the Park City community, who are interested in becoming involved, want to gain the personal and organizational tools to make better, more informed decisions, and who have a desire to lead . . . are encouraged to apply.
Leadership Park City will explore today's important community issues and introduce participants to top community leaders and thinkers.
Leadership Park City will broaden participants' experiences by . . .
- Acquainting them with the programs, processes and problems currently existing within the community
- Stimulating their interest in community activities and encouraging their active participation in local affairs
- Providing access to a wide variety of community resources that would be difficult to access elsewhere
- Familiarizing participants with one another and with leaders in the community
- Giving participants valuable personal leadership tools
- Curriculum
Experts on public policy, politics and critical thinking will help participants frame community issues and discuss potential solutions. Lectures, group discussions, field trips and experiential "hands on" learning will be used throughout the program.
Leadership Park City is designed as a yearlong program. Ten individual sessions are scheduled, with a combination of full-day, half-day and evening programs. A multi-day field trip is also an integral part of the program. Most sessions last 6 hours.
The curriculum will feature:
- Group Building & Problem Solving
- Community Overview, Orientation & History
- Local Government, Legal & Infrastructure
- Planning, Development & Growth Management Issues
- Tourism & Economic Development
- Issues Forums: Affordable Housing, Environment, Open Space, Recreation, Arts and others
- Diversity Training
- Ethical Leadership
- Community Organizations & Citizen Participation
- Leadership Skill Training: Motivation, Empowerment, Conflict Resolution, Communication
- Diversity Training
- Field Trip: Experiential Learning
- Participants will be given background materials and other pertinent information on the issues.
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Criteria
The purpose of Leadership Park City is to train new and emerging community leaders (individuals wishing to stretch themselves and embrace the wider Park City community), therefore the selection process encourages motivated individuals representing diverse segments of the community to apply. No prior formal leadership experience is necessary. Anybody living or working within the Park City School District is eligible, and wider Summit County participation is also encouraged. There is no age limit. A maximum of 25 participants will be selected for the program each year.
The selection committee, made up of representatives from the sponsoring organizations and several members from the community at large, will evaluate all applications. A short written application form, including an essay and references, will be the primary basis for selection. Each candidate will be evaluated on the basis of:
- Level of interest in the community
- Self-motivation and desire to participate
- Aspirations to serve in leadership roles
- Strong likelihood of remaining in the community for at least 3 years
- Endorsement from references and/or sponsors
- Strong commitment to the program. Those accepted must agree in writing to attend and fully participate in at least 80% of all scheduled activities
- Work history and current position or activities
Application forms are available by clicking here.
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Costs
Each participant will be awarded a scholarship to cover the costs of the program. Scholarships are made possible through the generosity of the listed sponsoring organizations.
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Schedule
The program consists of 10 individual sessions beginning in October, with approximately one session per month during the fall, winter and spring, a 5-day field trip during the late summer, and several social events. Click here for a detailed schedule.
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Attendance
A strong commitment is vital to fully benefit from Leadership Park City. Participants are requested to attend all scheduled sessions and activities. Participants must attend 80% of all activities in order to graduate. One hour or more of absence from any session constitutes a "no-credit" for that session.
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Deadlines
Completed application forms must be received by no later than August 20th in order to be reviewed by the selection committee. Click here to apply : Application form
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