PAOLA — Project 17 has won a $1 million regional leadership training award.
State Sen. Pat Apple, R-Louisburg, said that the award from the Kansas Leadership Center will be used to provide immersion-style, leadership training for up to four years, for up to 400 southeastern Kansans. The effort will offer leadership skills and a greater understanding of southeast Kansas’ strengths and challenges, he said. “We were looking for a partnership with a creative, committed organization ready to roll up its sleeves and go to work on a problem,” said KLC President and CEO Ed O’Malley. “We found a great partner in Project 17 that recognizes the value of empowering the next generation of southeast Kansas leaders.” Project 17 is a regional effort that was formed last fall at the urging of Apple and fellow senators Jeff King, Bob Marshall and Dwayne Umbarger, and is named after the 17 counties in southeast Kansas, including Miami, Franklin, Anderson and Linn counties. At the Southeast Kansas Summit that created Project 17, southeast Kansas leaders decided they had to work together for the region’s common good, or the region would continue to fail separately. “The key to vibrant communities and a strong southeast Kansas is local leadership,” King said. Project 17 is focused on four items — economic growth; improved health, regional leadership and creating a permanent group to ensure a long-term regional effort. Apple said the Academy for Team Leadership will form the cornerstone of Project 17’s leadership efforts.
Tuesday, March 20, 3 p.m.
