Leadership Great Falls …is a community–wide program designed to identify, educate and motivate potential leaders for the betterment of Great Falls.

Leadership Great Falls' purpose is to identify, generate and perpetuate a feeling of involvement within existing and potential community leaders.

Sponsored By:

Program Goals

1. To acquaint potential leaders with community needs and challenges and offer these individuals proactive opportunities for dealing with these issues.
2. The give the class opportunities to meet present leaders, network with their peers, and motivate participants to increase their business, professional and civic involvement while broadening their understanding of how the community functions.
3. To encourage the class to use their leadership skills to enhance their contributions to their employer, businesses, organizations and the community.

Why Leadership?
We believe that Great Falls will grow at an accelerated rate in immediate years. The scope and quality of this growth depends to a considerable degree on the availability of informed, skilled and enthusiastic civic leaders. To assure ourselves there will be leaders prepared and ready to get involved, the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to provide Leadership Great Falls.

What will I experience in Leadership Great Falls?
Leadership Great Falls is a two-year commitment and begins with a two-day retreat filled with discovery. You will meet community leaders that serve on the Chamber's Board of Directors and explore your own leadership potential. You will learn about the elements of leadership and begin a leadership based curriculum. (This retreat is mandatory)

From September through May, you will spend 10 sessions viewing the community from a behind the scenes perspective. You will experience a wide range of industry – some you may be familiar with and some you are not – that will elicit emotions, thoughts, and actions only your peers and Leadership Great Falls alumni can truly understand.

Session days create awareness into sectors such as: Agriculture; Military; Education; Government & Legal; Business Development & Media; Health & Medical; Human Services; Energy & Transportation; Sports, Tourism, Recreation & Arts.

The final session day titled, “Effecting Change” provides the opportunity to move out of the class room and becoming a leader in the following year's Leadership Great Falls program. You will be asked to select the session days you most want to be involved with - working closely with your Peers, Steering Committee and Chamber Staff – you will analyze, develop and create the best agenda for the day that highlights the strengths and challenges of the session theme. You will put the leadership skills you have gained through Leadership Great Falls to work right away with just a short hiatus after your graduation. Your second year commitment – will not require your attendance at every session day - just the days you have selected to develop.

Ultimately, our goal is to engage you in the community putting the leadership skills you have developed through Leadership Great Falls to work through out the community. We challenge you to find the “place” that motivates and inspires you the most and make a difference – be a role model for future civic leaders.

How to I attend Leadership Great Falls?
You have to apply for acceptance to the Leadership Great Falls program. Applicants are solicited from May through June. Selection of candidates is made on the basis of the interests expressed in your application by you and your employer. Successful applicants will be notified mid-July.

How much does it cost to attend Leadership Great Falls?
The tuition fee for Chamber Members is $795; non-members $895. Tuition must be received prior to the Retreat in order for you to begin the program. Tuition covers all expenses involved with attending the program. There are a limited number of partial scholarships available each year so if you are with a not for profit organization or a small business owner, please inquire with the Leadership Great Falls Coordinator.

Erin Townsend, a Business Banker at Stockman Bank, is one of the many bright young leaders emerging in the Great Falls business community. As a 2004 Leadership Great Falls graduate, Erin served as the Co-Chair for the 2005 class and on the Steering Committee. Erin is very committed to the Leadership Great Falls program and says, “ I gained TONS of contacts through LGF and expanded my overall knowledge of Great Falls . As a native, I was sure I knew it all; I must confess I learned SO much more about my community than I ever imagined!”

There are some people that you see everywhere, rolling up their sleeves and getting involved with their community. Joe Schaffer, Assistant Dean of Outreach & Workforce Development at MSU- Great Falls is one of these shining stars. A 2004 Leadership Great Falls graduate, Joe says this about the benefits he received in Leadership Great Falls, “ Being relatively new to Great Falls (I think I had only been here a year when class started), Leadership Great Falls was an incredible “orientation” to our community and the people that live and works here.  I was exposed to the many wonderful organizations, businesses, attractions and opportunities Great Falls has to offer.  More importantly, I was also exposed to areas where Great Falls could use a little assistance and polishing to make our community even better.  I developed an excellent network of colleagues and friends, many of whom I continue to work and communicate with today.”

Linda Hisdahl, a Financial Consultant at D.A. Davidson & Co. and a 2004 Graduate, says that two things stand out from her experience in Leadership Great Falls. “ The people I've met and the knowledge I've gained about Great Falls . I have lived in Great Falls for more than 15 years, worked in the business community and been involved in numerous volunteer organizations, yet I was pleasantly surprised to learn that of my 37 classmates, I only knew one person prior to our LGF retreat. So meeting and becoming acquainted with my class members was a great opportunity. I find, as I'm sure most people do, that I get caught up in my job and my interests, and don't often make time to "venture outside my world." LGF gave me the opportunity to meet key people from the health care industry, the human services industry, the military community, the City and County offices and schools, and many other businesses around the town.”

Visit gfleaders.com for a look at Leadership Great Falls!