Antigonish Regional Development Authority, where ideas take root

Community Leaders graduate from Rural Leadership Development pilot program.

Twenty community leaders first to graduate from StFX Extension Department’s Rural Leadership Development pilot program

Twenty community leaders from Antigonish, Guysborough, Inverness, Pictou and Richmond counties graduated Saturday, February 13th, 2010 from St. Francis Xavier University Extension Department’s six-month pilot program in Rural Leadership Development. Alisha Grant and Shannon Long from ARDA were two of the four Antigonish participants graduating.

The program, which is part of a province-wide initiative: “Rural communities leading: strengthening rural Nova Scotia through community leadership and learning,” aims to help emerging and experienced leaders to make a difference in their community while developing and documenting their personal leadership skills through the program’s series of interactive seminars, self-directed learning activities, and group tasks. It is offered by the StFX Extension Department in partnership with Nova Scotia’s departments of Economic and Rural Development and Health Promotion and Protection, the Nova Scotia Community College, the Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Institute, and the Coady International Institute.

Advisory Committee members: (back row) Dan Gillis – Guysborough County Regional Development Authority, Gerry Grant – ARDA, Blaine Gillis – Strait Highlands Regional Development Agency, Tom Gunn – NSCC, Phil Davidson StFX Extension Department (front row) Madonna MacDonald – GASHA, Irene MacLeod – MacLeod Group, Pauline MacIntosh – StFX Extension Department

“The participants have spent six months focusing on developing their leadership skills and identifying local and regional community development opportunities,” says Phil Davison, interim director, Extension Department. “All the communities from which these leaders hail, as well as the region as a whole, will benefit from the participants’ knowledge, experience, skills and networking gained during this program.”

“The Rural Leadership Program has helped me identify and hone skills that I am now putting to practice in a leadership role that I assumed with one of the province’s signature tourism events, the Antigonish Highland Games,” says Alisha Grant, development officer at ARDA.

ARDA’s executive director, Gerry Grant was a member of the Advisory Committee for this pilot program. “It was nice to attend the graduation ceremony and have the opportunity to meet the participants, and hear their reflections and insights,” he says. “This program was a success due to the great collaboration between all of the partners and the participants themselves.” 

At the ceremony, Mary Coyle, director of the Coady International Institute spoke about three important qualities of a leader – confidence, commitment, and competence. Qualities she knows the graduates of the program have and will continue to use as they move forward working within their communities. 

“Being a participant in the Rural Leadership Program was an excellent opportunity to meet and collaborate with other leaders in neighbouring counties and communities,” says Shannon Long, communications officer at ARDA. “The program brought us all together and gave us the chance to talk about our experiences, projects, and important lessons learned.”