ROGERS — Nineteen sophomores and juniors from both Heritage and Rogers high schools make up the newest class of First Leadership.

Last week they met at the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce for an evening spent learning about their community. They’ll learn much more before they complete the course in the spring.

First Leadership was developed to help high school students become the leaders the community will need in the future, said Dana Mather, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. Arvest Bank is the presenting sponsor.

A steering committee, comprised of representatives from the schools and the business community, use an interview process to choose about 20 participants each year. Even candidates who aren’t accepted into the program learn something from the interview process, committee member Janet Post said. For some it is their first interview experience.

They look for students who are potential leaders, but aren’t overlyinvolved in extracurricular activities. Attendance is mandatory at some of the sessions; sessions that are missed have to be made up.

Some high school students just don’t have time for the program,Post said.

“The program is like a big puzzle,” Post said. Every piece is important.

Not only are the sessions mandatory, so is 10 hours of community service. The group will do some community service together.

This year’s class already volunteered to sell concessions at a football game. It was a team-building exercise, as well as communityservice. Class members will have to find ways to complete the hours on their own.

The morning after working the concessions stand, the group went on a one-day retreat to the ropes course at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. They had a chance to get to know each other while they did team-building exercises.

Other sessions this year include: a higher education class in which they’ll tour John Brown University, University of Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas Community College. They’ll hear about the difference between public and private schools, and two-year and four-year schools; a human services session; a personal finance session; and a business session.

In the spring, the group will have an overnight trip to Little Rock. In the past, some leadership classes took a tour of the state, but this year there weren’t enough chaperones available, Post said.

She likes the state tour because there are always some studentswho have never been out of northwest Arkansas. They’re shocked when they see poverty in the Delta, she said.

The themes of the curriculum remain the same each year, Post said, but the speakers vary. When the mayor was called out of town during the community session, the students toured City Hall with city treasurer Jerry Hudlow and heard from Main Street Roger Director Kerry Jensen.

Back in the chamber conference room, the students heard Kristen Cobb talkabout her role as a member of the School Board and also her job with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Mather spoke about the role of the chamber in the community.

The session ended with an exercise that helped the young leaders envision the community in 2025. It was based on an exercise developed for more mature leaders during the Chambers Vision 2025 process.

“Usually they start the year reserved and we get to watch them build confidence,” Post said.

“This group started out confident,” committee member Christy Morris added.

“It will be an interesting year.”

News, Pages 1 on 10/28/2009

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