The Wyoming County Economic Development Authority created
the Leadership Wyoming County program to primarily recruit and
train emerging leaders in the county and to develop new volunteer
resources for county programs.
Training sessions focused on specific topics important to Wyoming
County, such as leadership and communication; planning and
collaboration; facilitation; human resources and substance
abuse challenges; tourism and home based e-commerce; and
entrepreneurship.
Despite the challenge of recruiting volunteers willing and able to
commit to the seven-month course, Leadership Wyoming County
enrolled 32 attendees in its first year. Of those, 27 graduated.
Participants credit the program with improving their leadership,
networking and collaborative skills.
Forming a county planning commission was crucial for the
Wyoming County Economic Development Authority. The EDA
applied for a Flex-E-Grant to develop the organizational structure
that could successfully coordinate resources county-wide and put
the plan into action.
The EDA met with county commission members to answer questions and
present a compelling case for the advantages of the new planning commission.
The EDA successfully:
- Met with the county commissioners and earned their commitment to the planning commission concept
- Enlisted volunteers to be on the planning commission
- Recruited an Americorps VISTA member
- Trained members of the new commission on land use planning and other key issues
- Officially established the Wyoming County planning commission