The Whistler Forum for Leadership and Dialogue celebrated the graduating class of this year's Cohort program with a special address from former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt at the Adventure Centre last Friday (June 15).
"The Sea to Sky corridor is a world leader in smart growth and sustainability," said Harcourt. "You graduates will be able to add to that track record, and push this region even further along that path through your role as leaders."
Harcourt noted the 15 graduates of the program, now in its third year, will serve as a valuable resource for the area, developing innovative ways in which the region can grow and communicate.
"That communication is key to any level of growth and it is evident that in the corridor communication is strong," said Harcourt.The graduation ceremony marked the end of the ten month long program, which had the participants develop five separate research projects - Facilitating the Corridor Facilitators, Gateway to Asia from the Sea to Sky, Smart Transportation in the Sea to Sky, Towards a Corridor Environmental Leaders Network, and All Paddling in the Corridor Canoe.
"It's really a fascinating program," said graduate Mike Jenson. "Basically it takes leaders throughout the community and works with them on honing their existing leadership skills.
"It's all divided into four types of leaders."
Those leadership styles include the entrepreneur, bureaucrats, participative leaders, and knowledge based leaders.
"You really begin to understand how in order for us to move ahead you need people with from all four of those skill sets working together," said Jenson. "That's what this program does with people already here in the corridor.
The program was based on Leadership in Context, a book by Simon Fraser University professor Mark Wexler.
"It's like any textbook - dry," said graduate Maxine Bruce. "But we had the opportunity to talk directly with the author and that puts it in a whole different context where you go 'okay, I get it.'"
Jenson and Bruce's fellow graduates included Kathy Bennett of Quest University, Neil Edwards of the Ministry of Forestry, Heather Evans from district planning, Sheena Fraser of Pemberton, RCMP member Ann Marie Gallop, photographer Brad Kasselman, Christine Kenny of the Resort Municipality of Whistler, 樱桃视频Nation Ambassador Deanna Lewis, physiotherapist Tracy Morgan, David Rector of Epcor, Daniel Sailland of the Lil'wat Nation, Tim Schoahs of BC CTLI, journalist Alison Taylor, and Veronica Woodruff from the Department on Fisheries and Oceans.
