Matthew Breman, 2016 Chairman of the Board
Leadership is an interesting thing. We all want to have great leaders that inspire us and propel us forward. Some people think they are great leaders and many of us would like to be better leaders. I personally have been very fortunate to have made friends with, work for and work with some tremendous leaders. Every great leader may have a different style but they all share some common characteristics: honesty, commitment, creativity, confidence and being able to take the initiative. There is also something else most great leaders have in common, that is someone that inspired or mentored them.
I think we all can agree that we need to help foster and grow our future leaders in this community. It is great to see our Chamber doing its part through programs and groups such as Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!), the Leadership Class and Young Professionals Network (YPN).
YEA! is a year-long program that teaches middle and high school students how to start and run their own real businesses. These classes are filled with bright, energetic and eager students that want to get their ideas out into the world. They work directly with mentors to help take their ideas and turn them into real businesses. Although they might not all succeed in this business endeavor, they all gain important knowledge and experiences to help them succeed in life and maybe become one of our next great leaders.
The YPN group creates a community that also helps foster our future leaders. This diverse group is comprised of a variety of individuals from a wide array of disciplines and promotes connections between the valley’s best and brightest young professionals. Through programs like YPN Conversations that are held once a month, members can have lunch with community leaders, business owners and officials. These intimate lunches help to educate and inspire. Another thing YPN does is encourages its members to get actively involved in our community through volunteer work and non-profit board work.
Another service that your Chamber offers is the Mesa County Leadership Program. This ten-month program offers about 20 applicants from a broad spectrum of business, a comprehensive look at the various aspects that form our community, including local government, public lands, health care, education and human services. Since 1991, the class has graduated over 245 individuals, many of whom have gone on to serve on non-profit boards and run for public office.
As your Grand Junction Chamber Chair, I encourage all of you to help look for future leaders and encourage them to take advantage of the many opportunities that our community offers for professional development.
Matthew Breman, Chairman
Click here to download full version of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce April 2016 Newsletter.