The 34th class of the Leadership Emporia Academy comes to a close with a celebration luncheon on Friday.
Through several changes and an ongoing evolution of the program, Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jeanine McKenna says she is proud of how the program has developed and how it helps both people and businesses.
McKenna says the program helps participants deal with so-called adaptive issues, or what she calls “heart and gut” concerns, and technical issues. Last year saw a smaller class than normal and a half-day class schedule due to coronavirus. McKenna says the full-day schedule returned this year, but classes were kept smaller than normal as a COVID precaution.
The academy began with a “show-and-tell” format before developing a connection through the Kansas Health Foundation in the early 2000s and, later, the Kansas Leadership Center. McKenna says the Chamber is also starting to develop its own curriculum through research from Harvard’s Cambridge School of Leadership.
