This week I would like to take a moment to talk about my experience with the Blytheville Leadership Institute as our class graduation sits just over the horizon.
I've first got to just take a moment to thank all those who make this program possible — from the hard work that those at the Chamber of Commerce who choose to help make this program possible to the businesses and organizations that open their doors to the class to show what they do in our wonderful community. BLI has been a fantastic learning experience for me as well as a great opportunity to meet and connect with a group of people who all want to see this community be the best that it can be.
In these past months, I've had some really interesting experiences from our sessions.
Blytheville and the surrounding communities have a lot more going for them than people often give credit for and we've got some wonderful people spearheading those efforts.
BLI served as a door that once I walked through, I learned so much about all the effort that our community is making to help make it a better place for those who are here now and those who will be here in the future. We didn't have a single session where I did not learn something new even when discussing some of the things I thought I knew a lot about.
BLI has also exposed me to some wonderful and colorful personalities in the form of my own classmates.
It seems crazy to me that while many of us come from different backgrounds, different employers, have different skills and viewpoints, we have all come together because we feel a sense of curiosity about our community and wish to inform ourselves in all its varieties so that we may be better able to serve it. I think that going through this course has placed a special bond throughout us all and that those of us who completed this class will always have a special memory to look back on in the future and say, "Remember when we were in BLI together?"
BLI has also lead to me being more interested in volunteer efforts within this community.
We have a lot of great organizations that do a lot of good in this community and the number one resource that they are in need of is more people to help them in their efforts and more people talking about them.
One particular organization that I have come to realize this with is the Mississippi County Union Mission and I aim to continue to lend aid to them once BLI is completed.
If you are in this community and want to know how you can get more involved and more informed in what goes on around here then I suggest you look into BLI.
I could not sing the praises of this program loud enough and I have a pretty loud voice. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to participate in this program and I look forward to the Chamber Banquet when our class will stand together and celebrate the experiences we have had.
In September I wrote a column where I said, "I couldn't be more excited to be in BLI." At the time, I still didn't really know what the program would be like since we hadn't had any sessions at that point. I think it is possible that I was wrong because every other week waking up and knowing that I would get to learn about something new was the real exciting part about being in BLI and as we come to a close, I'm a little sad that it is coming to an end, but so glad that I've gotten to be a part of it.
gwilliams@neatowncourier.com