Leadership Fort Collins

Leadership Fort Collins, a program of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, was established in 1981 to inform participants about the history, government, economy, social issues, needs and opportunities in our community.

The program is designed to broaden participant knowledge of the community while enhancing leadership skills, encouraging contribution to the betterment of the Fort Collins community, increasing the strength and effectiveness of community leaders, equiping participants to respond to the current and future challenges of the community and to provide opportunities for direct contact with influential people, businesses and organizations while achieving the goal of educating and motivating leaders who are committed to shaping the future of our community.

Thirty current and emerging leaders are selected to participate in the program every year. Participants come together once a month for 9 months for day-long sessions to learn about growth, environment, and community planning; local government; public safety and community assistance; economic development and small business assistance; health care; history, diversity, and community betterment; education and life-long learning; and teambuilding and leadership development.

In addition to their experiences each month, members of the class are using their skills in a class project.  In 2012, the 30 members of the class, working together:  packaged and delivered 200 breakfast bags to homeless individuals needing sustenance through Homeless Gear; shared time and conversation with 10 young adults while challenging them to dream about the future through the Matthews House; read to and delivered books to 90 elementary students in Fort Collins while increasing the community awareness of the Book Trust; encouraged and inspired 13 single mothers with career resources and interview skills through Project Self Sufficiency; provided $1,402 of financial support to The Matthews House while feeding the patrons of Old Town the best fajitas around and provided 11,000 bus passes to the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope.

Download a 2012-2013 Leadership Fort Collins application here.  The 2012-2013 application is due to the Chamber by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8 with the class selection on August 31, 2012.  The 2012-2013 LFC Steering Committee is also taking applications.  Applications can be found here and are due by July 30, 2012.

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For more information please contact Ann Hutchison, Executive Vice President, at ahutchison@fcchamber.org or (970) 482-3746.

Special thanks to our Leadership Fort Collins Program Sponsor:

And our Leadership Fort Collins Graduation Sponsor: