Two students from Olds High School will get to attend the second annual leadership conference put on by the Leadership Centre of Central Alberta, with the Town of Olds paying for their delegate fees.
At its Aug. 25 meeting, town council voted to provide $1,260 in sponsorship money for two students to attend the event, to be held from Sept. 22 to 23 in Red Deer.
“I think this is a great opportunity, particularly to support the high school and the many amazing students we have in our community,” said Coun. Rudy Durieux during the meeting.
The conference is titled, Engaging Minds, Inspiring Action.
Doug Wagstaff, the town's director of community services, said town staff members plan to attend as part of their professional development and suggested bringing the students along.
Wagstaff said the high school, which offers a course in leadership, will decide which students to send.
“Certainly it will reinforce what they're already experiencing,” Wagstaff said. “Just about how they as individuals play a big part in creating the community that they live in, in the future.”
“Any way we can help continue to grow that, both formally and informally from the town's perspective and other community groups, is great.”
Wagstaff has prior experience with the leadership centre, which was established in 2000 to nurture leadership skills in people and organizations in Central Alberta.
As the baby boomers aged, he said, the centre was started to fill the leadership void left in many organizations by sharing knowledge.
In 2003, he participated in an activity called the Leadership Network, a year-long program that brought individuals from various industries to share ideas about how to change organizations, guide people and engage the community.
Wagstaff, a residence life officer for Olds College at the time, said the network allowed him to meet people from other industries, from construction, to other municipal leaders.
His experience with the program carried a deep influence on his professional development, he said.
“That continued at Olds College and the town. There's a lot of things going on in this community that … embodied exactly what I was taking at that point in time and I was able to apply that through my own work at the college and in the community as well,” he said.
