MCINTOSH LAW FIRM’S YOUNG LEADERS
The 2010-11 Leadership Lake Norman Class came up with the idea to create a junior version of the program.
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Behind the Scenes
Junior Leadership Lake Norman Program by Renee Roberson photography courtesy of Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce
When Bill Russell first joined the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce as president in 1997, one of his first directives was to put together a leadership program that area business owners and leaders could take part in. Drawing elements from other leadership programs in North and South Carolina, Leadership Lake Norman soon took shape, emerging as an eight-month program where participants could learn more about healthcare, economic development, nonprofits, and more. Since its inception, 529 community and business leaders have enrolled in the program. When Huntersville resident Tricia Sisson participated in Leadership Lake Norman in 2010-11, she and other members had the idea of creating a junior version of the program. “A core group of us got together and thought, this program is really good,” she says. “Students in the community need to know about this. If they became engaged enough, they could return to 24
LAKE NORMAN CURRENTS | MARCH 2022
the area after graduation and become business leaders.” Rather than reinventing the program, they only needed to reapply the seminar topics and presentations about government, civics, education, nonprofits and more to the students. The group brainstormed how they could streamline the process for accepting applications, reaching out to area schools to see if they might be interested in sharing the information with their students. They decided to design the program for high school juniors, and each member of the Leadership Lake Norman adult class would take on planning of an individual session. The pilot class for Junior Leadership Lake Norman began in 2011-2012, with Sisson’s daughter Kaitlyn Cobb being an inaugural member. The program accepts 18-20 students and is an in-depth study of management styles, personalities, and involved
