Many of the leaders of our community have or are reaching retirement age; these are the founding fathers (and mothers) of Vail as we know it today, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their leadership in building our community.
Much hand wringing has occurred over the past number of years as to the next generation of leaders for our community. I’ve been fortunate to call the valley home for 19 years, and it’s not a stretch to suggest that (collectively) we’ve been discussing building the next generation of community leader for much of that time (and probably well before then, too).
The good news is that we’re a community filled with young and emerging leaders across the private and non-profit sectors. This isn’t new, but we’ve lacked a formal way to connect these emerging leaders to the established and recognized leaders within the community. After all, what makes a leader? Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to “win” as a team or an organization; and it is dynamic, exciting, and inspiring.
While leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide their people to the right destination, in a smooth and efficient way. Vail Valley Partnership has built the NEXT Vail Valley program to support and advance emerging professionals in our community. The program aims to serve professionals with a ‘mentee’ mindset who seek to learn from and be inspired by established community leaders in the valley while connecting with other emerging professionals.
NEXT Vail Valley is an opportunity for 12 emerging professionals to meet, converse and engage with a community leader in a group setting. Two separate groups will meet monthly to reflect on the previous month’s meeting and to prepare for the upcoming meeting with the community leader. While meeting with the community leader, NEXT participants will have 2 hours to inquire and converse with the leader in a group setting about topics determined in the planning meeting. Each NEXT group will meet with a different community leader each month.
We’re fortunate to have buy-in from established community leaders who recognize the need to build the next generation, and to share their institutional knowledge on the valley and on building a successful enterprise in the mountains. Our community leaders consist of:
Group 1
July 2016 – Elaine Kelton, President, The Kelton Group
August 2016 – Chris Jarnot, EVP and COO, Vail Mountain
September 2016 – Virginia Egger, Town Manager, Town of Avon
October 2016 – Rob LeVine, General Manager, Antlers at Vail
November 2016 – Dr. Jason Glass, Superintendent, Eagle County School
December 2016 – Laurie Mullen, Owner, West Vail Liquor Mart
Group 2
July 2016 – Dr. Kathryn Regjo, Vice President, CMC – Edwards Campus
August 2016 – Ceil Folz, Consultant, Premier Projects Consulting
September 2016 – Brian Nolan, Owner, Group 970
October 2016 – Johannes Faessler, Owner, Sonnenalp Hotel
November 2016 – Doris Kirchner, President and CEO, Vail Valley Medical Center
December 2016 – Jeff Shroll, Town Manager, Town of Gypsum
Peter Drucker famously stated that when “management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things.” Great leaders possess dazzling social intelligence, a zest for change, and above all, vision that allows them to set their sights on the “things” that truly merit attention. Not a bad skill set for the rest of us, either, and one that can be nurtured and developed by learning from those who have – and are – walking the road of community leadership in their own organizations.
The valley is fortunate to be filled with young (and not so young anymore) leaders who are motivated and eager to learn and to positively impact our community. We encourage you to apply for this program if you consider yourself as part of the NEXT generation of professional leaders in the valley. Interested participants must fill out the program application available at VailValleyPartnership.com and submit to Jill Lammers at jlammers@visitvailvalley.com by June 1, 2016.
Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership