A leadership program run by the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce has participant Carrie Boelens excited about the future.

Boelens, director of community engagement for OSF healthcare, said the program has been an invaluable experience that will offer a viable future for the area.

“It comes down to people. And when you have the right people doing the right things in the right places, it only accelerates the trajectory of the region to grow and flourish,” Boelens said. “And that recruits people to come live and make their family’s home in the Illinois Valley.”

The Illinois Valley Community Leadership Academy is an eight-month program for current and emerging community leaders to develop deeper knowledge of the community, experience personal growth and form connections. The curriculum is created and run by IVAC Executive Director Bill Zens.

Each month has a one-day course on a specific topic, along with additional activities. All areas of the program include leadership training in the following areas: community history, civil leadership, education and nonprofits, healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture and business.

IVCC Director of Learning Resources Patrice Hess said the program has helped her in many ways, from learning history about the area to developing connections.

“One of the greatest benefits I anticipate getting is making connections with other people in the community who are service minded and want what’s best for us and our communities to make them stronger and better working together,” Hess said.

Chris Weittenhiller is the CEO of the Illinois Valley YMCA in Peru. He said he was new to the community about a year and a half ago and values the opportunity to learn about the area and other leaders, specifically mentioning the benefit of participating in personality profile tests.

“It (personality tests) has allowed us to understand ourselves better and understand other people and how they operate,” Weittenhiller said. “I think participants will walk away with a better understanding of what our community is and what our community needs. I think it will position us for more partnership and collaboration.”

Business Service Representative Laura Olson said she’s enjoyed the program. An Illinois Valley native, she said she’s learning more about community history – touring the Hegeler Carus mansion in La Salle, Reddick Mansion in Ottawa, museums and more – than she ever knew prior.

“I’ve grown up in this area and seen those things but haven’t really known the history about much of it,” Olson said, later adding “So it was nice to learn (about) something that’s been in your area your whole life that you just don’t know much about.”

At the end of the program, groups will work on a capstone project with a local business or nonprofit. The last sessions of the program are held in April. Boelens said she’s looking forward to the capstone project most moving forward because she’ll have the opportunity to help a local organization.

Weittenhiller and Olson said they look forward to continuing to build relationships and networking through the program, something that they say will help both them and the communities in which they live and work.

“When you put together people interested in leadership and also people interested in serving our communities, there’s nothing but good outcomes to come from it,” Hess said.