A new group to help develop the leaders of today and tomorrow in Carthage will kickoff in January with a lunch, an introduction and networking.
The Carthage Emerging Leaders group, the brainchild of Carthage Chamber Board Chairwoman Lora Phelps, will hold its kickoff meeting from noon-1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, at the Broadview Country Club in Carthage.
Cost is $10 per person for lunch.
The first meeting will be an introduction to the group and its purpose.
Phelps said the first meeting will also include 20 minutes of “speed networking,” to let people forge new relationships with other business professionals in Carthage.
The group plans to meet once a month. Some meetings will involve networking over lunch. Some meetings, such as the one planned for February, will introduce young professionals to area businesses.
The Dyno Nobel explosives plant just west of Carthage on County Route HH will host the second meeting of the group, planned tentatively for noon-1 p.m. Feb. 25, 2010, at the Dyno Nobel facility.
Seating is limited to 30 people for this event because of space.
Other meetings, such as the March meeting, will focus on local politics. The March meeting is tentatively planned as a chance to meet the candidates for local and school elections, which will take place in April. It will also let people get to know how the political process works in Carthage, Jasper County and Missouri.
The time date and place for that meeting is still being finalized.
The group is aimed at young business professionals ages 20-40 interested in learning more about Carthage and learning how to take a leading role in the community.
Phelps said Carthage needs a group to help young professional people find out how the community works, what kind of groups make the community work and where they can help their community.
“All though school we are geared toward leadership and we have these resources and in some businesses there are excellent resources,” Phelps said. “I think there is a gap in what people know about the community. There is so much going on, there are so many opportunities there are so many organizations in Carthage that we don’t know about. We might know about three or four of them and we might be involved in those but there are other opportunities out there.”
