Nine months after the inaugural class of Leadership Amherst began meeting, the program is set to celebrate its first graduation May 22.
The program, which aims to provide training and skills for participants to lead effectively, kicked off in the fall 2017 under the oversight of the Amherst County Office of Economic Development. Its objectives include highlighting various facets of Amherst County, from local history to government and workforce development, developing a greater sense of awareness about the county and fostering an atmosphere for encouraging leadership qualities.
Half a dozen participants have been meeting bimonthly and covering various topics such as the role of agritourism in the local economy and ethics in the workplace, said Lori Saunders, assistant director of the Amherst County Economic Development Authority. The group has traveled to county attractions, including Ankida Ridge Vineyards, met at various business locations and observed the role of nonprofits, among other activities, Saunders said.
The impetus for the program was forged in the authority’s development of its 2016 strategic plan, said Saunders. A lot of comments during the plan’s development centered on Amherst County losing much of its young people who move outside of the county to live, leading to a concern about who will lead it in future generations, said Saunders.
The program’s role moving forward is to bridge the gap in cultivating leaders, she said. The first class has been a fun, close-knit group, she said.
“My guinea pigs have been awesome,” said Saunders. “They learn a lot from each other and bring a lot to the table experience-wise.”
The EDA has $5,000 budgeted for the program. This year, each employer paid $295 per person toward the cost.
Jonathan Schjonning is among the program’s first class and said his interest stemmed from a desire to sharpen his leadership skills and develop local contacts.
“I plan on my family being here a long time,” said the 30-year-old owner of Swissomation Virginia, an Amherst-based machinery business. “I want to get more and more involved in the community.”
A native of Fredericksburg, Texas, he’s lived in Amherst County since age 7 and said he is on board with networking in Amherst County and seeing it succeed.
“There’s nothing worse than somebody who complains about something but yet doesn’t have an idea or who doesn’t want to put in the effort to fix something,” Schjonning said.
His business was among those the group observed during a bus tour of Amherst County’s three industrial parks last Wednesday. Economic Development Authority Director Victoria Hanson spoke in depth about the parks’ offerings and the role they play in strategizing to bring more business into the county.
“Just having land isn’t enough anymore. You have to have advanced product,” Hanson said during the tour.
The authority’s strategic plan was launched out of a need to respond proactively to the county losing jobs from the ongoing process to close the Central Virginia Training Center in Madison Heights and the near-closure of Sweet Briar College in 2015, according to Hanson. The blow of losing those two major employers at once would translate to about a quarter of the county’s workforce, she said.
While describing businesses in the three parks, she said during the tour 50 to 80 percent of new jobs come from existing businesses.
“A big part of what we do is business retention and expansion,” she said.
Schjonning said part of what attracted him to the program is learning how to lead and not just manage in the private sector.
“You’re either moving forward or you’re moving backward,” he said of operating a business. “There is no staying in one position.”
Hanson said the CVTC campus is prime for redevelopment and future uses for the site have potential to “raise Madison Heights to the next level.” She also spoke of an ongoing project to restore the former school on Phelps Road in Madison Heights into
market-rate apartments and redevelopment possibilities targeted for the facility that housed Pleasant View Elementary School, which shuttered its doors last year, and Winton Country Club and Golf Course.
Another goal is creating a pipeline of trades-related jobs from the Amherst County school system to local employers.
“We know the trades need more qualified people,” Hanson said. “We know in our region we need to have more tradespeople to fill the needs of our businesses.”
Luke Saechao, regional program manager, of the Amherst Adult Education Center, also is taking part in the Leadership Amherst initiative. The 38-year-old native of Thailand, who moved from San Diego, said Amherst County is a great place to raise his family of five and he’s come to love the county after the initial culture shock of getting used to a small town and the close relationships.
He said his big takeaway is becoming more of a community leader and extending himself to work with others and have a larger footprint at a local level.
“I’m big into giving back locally. This is our community. This is our home,” Saechao said. “This is where we work and play and have fun, and we want to make sure we ensure that for our future, for our children, giving them the opportunities as well.”