Northeast News
October 1, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce will roll out the 2015 incarnation of its Take Charge Civic Leadership program on Jan. 8, 2015, at a welcome reception at the North-East Public Library, 6000 Wilson Road. Most of the program’s sessions will also be at the library.

The Take Charge program is a five-month course that equips participants with the knowledge, skills and contacts to be effective neighborhood and community leaders. Topics included in the program’s 15 sessions include: Kansas City’s neighborhoods, urban planning, the local court system, local government, the Kansas City Museum, communications, public infrastructure, using the public library, the social service network, community policing, economic development and energy and the environment.

In a press release, Bobbi Baker-Hughes, the Chamber’s CEO, said the civic leadership program grew out of the Chamber’s 2013 strategic plan.

“Ongoing, capable leadership is the sustaining force behind successful neighborhood and non-profit organizations, just as it is in the private sector,” Baker-Hughes said.

The Take Charge program is free to people who live or work in the Northeast, but businesses are encouraged to sponsor interested employees or adopt one or more neighborhood residents to help defray costs of the program. Applicants are expected to attend all of the sessions and participate in class discussions. Program coordinator Jim Rice said Take Charge is “well worth the effort and time it requires because it is an investment that will empower current and future leaders to make their communities even better places for families to grow and prosper.”

Those interested in participating should contact Rebecca Koop at 816-231-3312 or Jim Rice at 816-808-4710. Since class size is limited, those interested should sign-up as soon as possible.