Leadership Niagara kicks off annual fund and new scholarship initiative (February 15, 2012)

Dear Leaders:

What do we need from leaders in Western New York?

While we’ve all dreamed of a single business or government leader turning things around in our region, we need to recognize that leadership exists in all of us and we need to do our part to move things forward.

At Leadership Niagara, we believe that leadership is bigger than any one person or organization; and that in order to advance our region it will be the result of a collective effort. As the longest running community leadership development program in New York State, we are also the first program to challenge how we define and practice leadership, and what we need to know about regionalism and reform.  In 2012 we further responded to the needs of our region and aligned our programs with the priorities of the WNY Regional Council.

We need leaders who understand our potential and want to pick up the torch and demonstrate their commitment to help others to develop their leadership capacity.  We need your help.

We hope that you will support our request for a tax deductible donation.  This year we have added the opportunity to support a scholarship to assist members of LN who demonstrate a financial need.

We invite you to invest in the future of LN and our region:

• $49 – Annual Frontline Membership
• $250 – Lifetime Membership
• Please include my gift of $ _____ to support the scholarship fund
• Please contact me, I am interested in helping in other ways

As a supporter of Leadership Niagara, you receive insider news and special member rate at LN events.  Your name will be recognized on our website, at our annual events, and in our county-wide news tab in the Niagara Gazette in April 2012.

Please make your check payable to Leadership Niagara and return by March 30th.

We thank you in advance for your commitment to leadership.

Sincerely,

Peter Mio                                                                           Maureen Wendt

LN Board Member, Class of 2010                                 LN Board Member, Class of 1995

Niagara Gazette (February 6, 2012)  http://niagara-gazette.com/features/x1346837462/DELUCA-The-Leadership-Chronicles

Niagara Region, NY (Friday, January 13, 2012)  – Leadership Niagara held it’s 2012 Opening Retreat on Friday, January 13 and Saturday, January 14 at The Giacomo Hotel in Niagara Falls, NY.  The Class of 2012 is:

• Cheryl Blacklock – Mental Health Association
• John Briglio – Niagara Falls City Schools
• Krystal Conger – The Laundry Lounge
• William Conrad - Orleans Niagara BOCES Board
• Michele DeLuca – Niagara Gazette
• Tammy Dodge – First Niagara Bank
• Destinee Henderson – Mental Health Association
• Angela Jackson – City of Niagara Falls
• Marc Kasprzak – Niagara County Sheriff’s Office
• Roy Kemsley – Covanta Energy
• Sarah K. Lanzo – Independent Living of Niagara County
• Marie Lenhart-Butkuss – New York Power Authority
• Teresa Martinez – New York Power Authority
• Joseph McMahon – Audubon Machinery
• Rich Meranto – Niagara Falls City Schools
• Brande Newsome – 914th Airlift Wing
• Michael Niethe – Lockport Police Department
• Katrina O’Sullivan – Key Investment Services
• Annette Pecenco – Stollberg, Inc.
• Cheryl Phillips – Niagara Gazette
• Angel Pletcher – The Dale Association
• Richard Rabin – Key Bank
• Krista Ryan – Key Bank
• Randy Szukala – North Tonawanda Police Department
• Justin Tedesco – Tedesco Contruction Services
• Chris Thurn – 107th Airlift Wing
• Thomas Weeks – Calamar Construction Mgmt
• Patricia Wrobel – Niagara University

Niagara Region, NY (Tuesday, January 3, 2012)  - Leadership Niagara is accepting nominees for the 2012 Leader of the Year awards.

Leader of the Year Award*
Alumni of the Year Award
Organization of the Year Award
Emerging Leader Award (ages 16-29)

Eligibility:
Individuals/Organizations from all sectors – government agencies, nonprofits, corporations and private sector – are eligible for the awards.  Nominees need not reside in Niagara County, but their impact must be made on the Niagara Region.

Criteria:
An individual or organization who: (1) Significantly impacts the Niagara Region; (2) Supports our mission to strengthen regional leadership; (3) Serves as a role model/mentor for future leaders; (4) Exemplifies our organization’s core values:

• Visionary Leadership
• Excellence
• Regional Partnerships
• Societal Responsibility
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Lifelong Learning

Nominations:
1. Submit a one-page statement demonstrating how your nominee fulfills the criteria.
2. Include contact information for both nominee and nominator.
3. Indicate name of the award you are nominating your candidate for.
4. Please list two references.

Please submit your nomination to tfletcher@leadershipniagara.org
Nominations are due by 5:00pm on February 10, 2012.

• 1990 Senator John B. Daly*
• 1991 Legislator Lee Simonson
• 1992 Henry Kalfas*
• 1993 Niagara County Community College
• 1994 Peter K. Wendel
• 1995 Ronald Danielwicz & William G. Mayne Jr.*
• 1996 Lockport Savings Bank & Alan Rae, PhD
• 1997 Mark Francis & Senator George Maziarz
• 1998 Jane Haenle LN ’84 & Richard Soluri
• 1999 Kathleen Granchelli LN ’88 & John Hoffman
• 2000 Joan G. Aul & Thomas A. Beilein
• 2001 Orleans Niagara BOCES & Jerald Wolfgang
• 2002 Niagara USA Chamber & Matthew J. Murphy III
• 2003 G. Michael Brown & New York Power Authority
• 2004 Christa Caldwell & Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station
• 2005 Merrel Lane, John Cooper & Niagara Falls Memorial
• 2006 Henry Sloma, Bob Confer LN ’07, Niagara University & Grigg-Lewis Foundation
• 2007 Carol Houwaart-Diez LN ’91, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital & Niagara County Bicentennial Committee
• 2008 Gannett Foundation, Frank Strangio & DiMino’s Tops Markets
• 2010 Jerome Williams, Ellicott Development & Taraneh Jacobs (Emerging Leader)
• 2011 Kenneth Franasiak, Flight 3407 Families & Daniel Aikin LN ’10 (Emerging Leader)

* Deceased

Past Alumni of the Year Honorees

• 1989 Robert J. Bradley LN ’84
• 1990 Katherine J. Benoit LN ’87
• 1991 Christopher H. Brown LN ’84
• 1992 Patricia Barry LN ’91
• 1993 George “Skip” Helfrich LN ’89
• 1994 Deanna Douglas-Knapp LN ’91
• 1995 Annemarie C. Bettino LN ’85
• 1996 John F. Benoit LN ’91
• 1997 Robert J. Kazeangin, Jr. LN ’87
• 1998 Carol Houwaart-Diez LN ’91
• 1999 Jacqueline Bixler LN ’92
• 2000 Wendy Roberson LN ’94
• 2001 Jill A. Spira LN ’91
• 2002 Kevin Schuler LN ’00
• 2003 Carolyn VanSchaik* LN ’95
• 2004 Justice Amy Fricano LN ’92
• 2005 David Burke LN ’01
• 2006 Raeanne Argy-Tyler LN ’99
• 2007 Cathleen Blood LN ’89
• 2008 Loretta C. Madia LN ’01
• 2010 Howard Morgan LN ’03
• 2011 Christine S. O’Hara LN ’92

Lockport, NY (December 9, 2011) – Leadership Niagara hosted its annual graduation event for twenty-three class members representing business, education, government, law enforcement, and the military who participated in a year long leadership development program in the Niagara region.  The event took place last night at the Tuscarora Inn in Lockport and included Leadership NIagara alumni, board members, and speakers.

LN Class of 2011

The organization presented it’s Top Speaker Award to Destinee May Henderson of the Mental Health Association.  Mrs. Henderson served as a guest speaker on the topic of overcoming a prescription drug addiction for the organization’s Criminal Justice session in September.  She was selected by the 2011 Class from over 70 speakers who presented to the class throughout the year.

During the awards program, Destinee Henderson was invited to speak to the graduation class and received a standing ovation from the audience.  Following her speech, Leadership Niagara’s executive director, Molly Anderson, presented Mrs. Henderson with a special invitation to join Leadership Niagara’s 2012 Class which will begin in January.

“Destinee has shown remarkable courage and has been an inspiration to all of us,” stated Anderson.  “For us it is no longer about Destinee’s past – it is about her future.  On behalf of Leadership Niagara we would like to welcome her to join our Leadership Niagara’s 2012 Class.”

Destinee May Henderson - 2011 Speaker of the Year

Leadership Niagara is the region’s premier leadership development program and has graduated over 1000 leaders in Western New York since 1984.  The Class Experience program in 2011 introduced a new graduate-level leadership competencies curriculum and coaching and mentoring program.  Participants learned from industry experts and leadership development professionals on topics including: change and transformation, creativity and innovation, agribusiness, economic development, education and workforce development.
“We have been provided with a year long foundation from which to continue to grow and lead within our workplace, community and family,” stated Adam Savard of HSBC and graduate of LN 2011.  “From the very beginning our class was challenged with who we are as individuals and what we believe about topics perceived to be sensitive, and ultimately that we cannot be effective leaders without first understanding and reflecting on who we are and what we stand for.”
“We were challenged to view topics and people from perspectives other than our own, to listen to positions we had never considered, and ultimately to gain a greater respect for the differences we have as people and the important roles people play throughout the community,” added Noelle Gaetano of Niagara Falls School District and fellow graduate of 2011.

Graduates of Leadership Niagara’s 2011 Class are as follows:

Jacqueline Agnello of Niagara University

Jeff Calarco of Niagara Gazette

Sara Carella of Family & Children’s Services of Niagara

Anthony Dell’Isola of New York Power Authority

Sandy Felicetti of Niagara Gazette

Richard Fremming of New York Power Authority

Noelle Gaetano of Niagara Falls City Schools

Dawn Harris of 914th Airlfit Wing

Laura Jacobs of e3communications

Patricia Jacus of 914th Airlift Wing

Tasha LeFevre of First Niagara Bank

Stephanie Magnuszewski of Niagara Tourism & convention Corporation

Donald McGuire of 107th Airlift Wing

Nathalene Mosley of Community Missions

Jennifer Pauly of Niagara River Region Chamber

Lisa Perry of M & T Bank

Angela Santiago of Niagara Falls City Schools

Adam Savard of HSBC Bank

Andrew Schuler of Cannon Design

Anthony Suess of Niagara County Sheriff’s Office

David Tighe of Covanta Energy

Anedda Trautman of Orleans Niagara BOCES

Brian Wentland of Lockport Police Department
The top presenters for 2011 included:  Dave Burke, LN ‘01 Bob Confer, LN ‘07, Ken Franasiak, Destinee May Henderson, Kevin MacDonald, LN ‘05 Kristen Neubauer, LN ‘10 Krista Snell, LN ‘07 Joseph Steinmetz, LN ‘07 Judge William Watson, LN ‘98 And The White (Roger, Beth, and Scott) Family.

Leadership Niagara’s mission is to strengthen regional leadership.  For more information contact Molly Anderson, Executive Director of Leadership Niagara, at 949-3223 or visit our website at www.leadershipniagara.org.

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Niagara Region, NY (Friday, October 7, 2011)  – We all know leading can be stressful.  Many of us are balancing work and family life.  We are often responsible for other people, we take on additional responsibilities, and we are under pressure to achieve results in complex economic times. 
 
What unites us, at Leadership Niagara, is that we all want to be more effective leaders.  We devote ourselves to personal development because we know “great leaders” need a better understanding themselves, their values, and their motivations.
 
An important tool in becoming a great leader is coaching and mentoring. A mentor is an honest look in the mirror, a straight shooter, a person who can bring us back to reality, and someone who genuinely cares about YOU.   You simply can’t go it alone and your spouse or friends can’t do it for you either.  Our Coaching and mentoring program has become a foundation building block at Leadership Niagara and is creating growth in our organization and our leaders from the inside out.
 
Perhaps you know someone who would benefit from LN 2012 and or you who would like to reconnect with us and serve as a mentor to a new class member.  There are many ways to continue your personal development with Leadership Niagara whether you are a grad or you would like to be one.  Contact me by phone, email, or find me on facebook.  I’d be happy to hear from you and talk about why you want to lead.

Molly Anderson, Executive Director, 716-949-3223, manderson@leadershipniagara.org

Niagara Falls, NY (Tuesday, September 20, 2011)  – Leadership Niagara’s youth program, LYNC, began its 11th year at an opening session at the New York Power Authority. 

Here is a recap of our September session by LYNC Student Ruth Gendrue of Barker High School:

What does it mean to be a leader? What is your definition of leadership? Two of the several questions asked at the fist session of LYNC, Leadership for the Youth of Niagara County. The 2011-2012 class of approximately thirty six students including myself, gathered at the Niagara Falls Power Authority on Tuesday. We were introduced in depth to what we could expect from the program, and had the opportunity to begin building relationships with the other students. Starting with a lecture on the background of the LYNC program and its advisors, we learned how this program would benefit and develop our leadership skills. Though during that lecture we also learned we would not be sitting around the whole time, a very exciting fact about the program for us students. We did several bonding and ice-breaker activities to learn more about other people as well as an interactive lecture by Tim Widjaja. Tim Widjaja gave us a whole different outlook on what it means to express leadership skills.

“Everyone has the potential to lead” –Molly Anderson, Executive Director. Anyone has the potential to lead, but we as students have the choice how we lead. All students that went to Tuesday’s session were chosen because of their leadership qualities. This program will develop our leadership skills and help us become a part of our community. I believe that this experience has marked a beginning for many great LYNC sessions. I cannot wait to see what happens in the future for the LYNC class of 2011-2012.

LYNC Class of 2011-2012

Niagara Region (Friday, September 9, 2011)  – Leadership Niagara would like to invite individuals with an interest in regional issues and leadership in the Niagara region to apply for the 2012 Class Experience: “One Year That Will Change Your Life.”  As the longest running leadership program in New York State, Leadership Niagara has engaged a growing network of over 1000 local leaders and introduced breakthrough programs including coaching and mentoring and graduate-level leadership development. 

Leadership Niagara’s year long program begins in January 2012 with an opening overnight retreat and meets monthly for facilitated discussions, presentations, field trips, group process and interaction.  The program utilizes skilled facilitators and area experts to deliver a high standard of leadership development training as well as an understanding of organizational change, transformation, creativity, and innovation.  Class size is limited to 25-30 members across all sectors spanning the Niagara region.  Class members receive an in-depth look at issues and industries that impact Western New York including regional economics, renewable energy, agribusiness, education, entrepreneurship, diversity, and criminal justice. 

“Leadership Niagara believes true leadership is for all people.  We work with individuals at all levels of organizations to build leadership capacity across our region” stated executive director Molly Anderson.  “Most importantly, we are seeking candidates who are passionate about our community, want to improve their understanding of leadership concepts and principles, and will extend their learning into day-to-day practice.”

The cost of the program is $2,250 and includes all costs for materials, group transportation, meals, and meeting locations.  Interested candidates may attend an  informational recruitment event with alumni and board members on Wednesday, September 21st at Wine on 3rd from 5:00 to 7:00pm.  Reservations may be made by calling 998-0351.

Leadership Niagara’s mission is to strengthen regional leadership.  For more information on our programs and an application for 2012 visit the website at www.leadershipniagara.org or contact Molly Anderson at 716-949-3223.

Friday, August 12, 2011 at Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course

Shotgun at Sunrise-August 12, 2011

Leadership Niagara’s annual Shotgun at Sunrise golf tournament brought together leaders past and present to raise funds for program development.  Chaired by Melissa Morinello, LN Class of 2008, the event raised over $14,000.  Special thanks to our sponsors M&T Bank and Seneca Gaming.

Thank you to the golf committee; Molly Anderson, Sandy Felicetti LN ’11, Tracy Fletcher LN ’10, Laura Jacobs LN ’11, Howard Morgan LN ’03, Dave Nardozzi, Christine O’Hara LN ’92, Glenn Osswald LN ’10, Susie Reinhardt LN ’10, Tony Suess LN ’11, Katie Trombley LN ’10. 

Thank you to our volunteers; Sara Carella LN ’11, Betsy Diachun, Lisa Lindamer, Lisa Perry LN ’11, Michael Thompson, Anedda Trautman LN ’11, Maureen Wendt LN ’95.

Congratulations to our winners Christine O’Hara – closest to the pin women, Ken Bedore – closest to the pin mens, Renita DeStefano – longest drive women, Jeff Eddy – Longest drive mens.