There are so many incredible things happening in our community. Significant new facilities are under construction for the Red Rock Development and at all three hospitals. The Power Plant Business Incubator continues to help innovative and scalable startups primarily in the areas of technology, health care, and communications. The downtown continues to generate enthusiasm with the new Hilton Garden Inn under construction, an ever growing line up of restaurants and stores, and more residential options in the works. All of this excitement and growth is in large part the result of our partners. Thank you for your engagement and investment in moving the Ocala Metro forward.
Leadership Ocala Marion
Spring brings warmer weather, high school proms and graduations, and the beginning of planning for the CEP’s amazing leadership programs. For more than 30 years, Leadership Ocala Marion (LOM) has been training and providing opportunities to train new generations of leaders on the needs of this community and how they can engage.
In mid-May, the 34 members of Class XXXII graduated from Leadership Ocala Marion. The program’s beginnings can be traced back to Mr. Frank Stafford who was serving as President of the Board of the Chamber in 1986 when the decision was made to hire a consultant to help the Chamber start a leadership program. The first class began in the fall in 1987. While methods and details have changed over the years, the principles and mission remain the same: Leadership Ocala Marion (LOM) is designed to engage, develop, and inspire developing leaders in our community. LOM seeks to prepare, involve and sustain leaders from diverse backgrounds who are committed and competent to address community challenges and improve the business climate, economy and quality of life in Ocala and Marion County.
For those unfamiliar with LOM, the program is engaging yet rigorous. After an application and selection process, the leaders embarks upon a program which includes an orientation retreat and once a month, all-day sessions. Each session focuses on a different area of community life and seeks to help the leaders understand the inner-workings of those areas including economic development, quality of life, human services, government, justice, agriculture and education. The LOM calendar runs August through May.
Interviews are now underway for Class XXXIII. For more information on this great program, please visit the CEP’s website—OcalaCEP.com/Programs
It has been said that everything rises and falls on leadership. Investing in and building up leaders is essential for our community to be the best choice to live, work and play.
