For more than 30 years, Arkansans from all walks of life have made a commitment: To take on the two-year Lead Arkansas program to sharpen their skills, expand their worldview and elevate their hopes into action to aid their communities.
Learning to be a leader requires global thinking, a major part of the training provided by LeadAR, or Lead Arkansas, the Arkansas agricultural and rural leadership development program.
It recruits people who have a passion to serve Arkansas and their communities to deal with the critical problems facing the state. Many social and economic problems face Arkansas communities, especially in rural areas. To help resolve these problems, citizens must show initiative, responsibility and good decision-making. In challenging situations, it is difficult to lead farther than you have gone yourself. Some of Arkansas' leaders have never traveled beyond their state or national boundary. The state needs more visionary, pragmatic leaders bound by public needs to serve their neighbors.
Arkansas is no longer isolated -- its boundaries now extend around the world as national and international forces profoundly affect life in this state. Arkansas is increasingly influenced by decisions made in Washington, D.C., on farm programs or environmental protection; in New York corporate headquarters on employment in Arkansas manufacturing or industrial plants; or in Bejing, New Dehli, London or Tokyo on international trade and finance.
LeadAR's two-year study structure offers participants in-depth and global views of issues facing their communities, state and country. It includes a weeklong trip to Washington to gain insight on the legislative process and how it can help locally and a trip overseas, to compare rural communities and economies and find opportunities locally.
International study has taken classes to Greece, Bolivia, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, Scotland, Panama and Costa Rica, and Brazil. The current class is heading to China.
LeadAR gives adults from rural Arkansas communities an increased understanding of economic and social changes affecting Arkansas. Participants develop leadership skills and gain greater confidence in their own abilities.
A series of seminars immerse class members in issues that affect the state and enables learning from industry leaders. Study trips to Washington and one abroad provides a national and global perspective.
LeadAR can be traced to a 1980 fact-finding trip by J.B. Williams, extension-state leader-community development, and Thomas Vaughns, an extension area horticulturist for the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Along with representatives from 41 other states, they learned about a leadership training program initiated by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Impressed by what they heard, the two submitted a proposal, and the foundation provided grants that would establish LeadAR.
The program took root and Class 1 began its journey in March 1984.
While LeadAR may not be a household name yet, its graduates are everywhere; in the state House and Senate, local school boards, city councils and quorum courts and in industry and community leadership roles across Arkansas.
In 30 years, the program has developed a legacy of more than 440 alumni who will influence the state's future for decades to come.
Individuals interested in applying should go to http://www.uaex.edu/leadar to learn more about the LeadAR Program and the Arkansas Association of LeadAR Alumni. For more information, call County Agent Jimmy Driggers at 623-6841, or email him at [email protected].
Master Gardener
If interested in gardening, the public is welcome to Master Gardener meetings which are held at 1 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Elk's Lodge. For information call, the Extension office at 623-6841 or 922-4703 or email Allen Bates at [email protected].
EHC
Interested in joining an Extension Homemakers Club or forming a new club in your community? For information, email [email protected].
4-H
If between 5 and 19, you can join 4-H. There's a club for you, or you and a group of friends can organize a club. For information, call 623-6841 or email [email protected].
Society on 08/31/2015