Leadership Academy Hones Special Skills

The Commissioners Court Leadership Academy (CCLA) recently traveled to Corpus Christi to sharpen their media relations and leadership skills at a three-day session conducted Oct. 24-26.
CCLA is a two-year, advanced leadership development program for commissioners court members sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension’s V.G. Young Institute of County Government.
The 11-member class attended a media relations workshop taught by Gerard Braud of Braud Communications in Mandeville, La. Each class member received personalized media training based on an individual assessment and learned how to prepare for interviews with the media in order to communicate effectively.
“It was a good exercise in seeing how elected officials can work with media and to see how you look in the media,” said Bell County Judge Jon Burrows. “This session helped us become more effective as elected officials.”
Class members traveled to the Nueces County Show Barn to gain a fresh perspective on leadership through a program entitled “Horse Sense for Leaders.” This session, presented by John Lord of Lord/Thompson Associates and Louis Wood, both of Virginia, taught class members the principles of becoming a great leader through observations of a cowboy working with a horse that had formed bad habits. The session demonstrated the value of leadership, influence and productive relationships through the consistent message the cowboy used to communicate with the horse.
“This session was one of the better ones I have attended,” said San Patricio County Commissioner Fred Nardini. “The program was great. I enjoyed the session and how it relates to real life and our jobs. We all learned a big lesson from this session.”
The next CCLA session will take place in Washington, D.C., April 26-May 2, 2008. To learn more about CCLA, please visit the Institute Web site at http://vgyi.tamu.edu.
By Marsha Kocurek, Extension Assistant