William (Bill) Watson, 69, was born in Anderson, In. He attended Anderson Community Schools and graduated in 1970. Upon graduation he enlisted in the United State’s Marine Corps. Bill served at the United Stated Pentagon, Op Nav Security Headquarters Marine Corp and finished his tour of duty at Marine Corp Recruit Depot, San Diego, Ca as a Drill Instructor and Platoon Commander. Upon his discharge he returned to Anderson and enrolling at Anderson (College) University. Bill began his employment with The Madison County Circut Court as an adult probation officer. He served from 1975 to 1978.

Our first annual LAMC Scavenger Hunt is in the books! We had a GREAT time and were able to raise some money for LAMC scholarships. Special thanks to the Anderson Madison County Visitors Bureau, Jack's Donuts and HeliXsignworX for their help and support in making this fun event happen. We've already started planning for next year so stay tuned!!

David Dodd is a lifelong resident of Madison County, and graduate of the Leadership Academy of Madison County class of 2001. We are honored to recognize David Dodd this evening as the 2019 Servant Leader Award Winner.

David and his wife Shelley together have 5 children, 2 grandchildren, 3 dogs, 4 grand dogs and a cat! David is the CEO of Madison County Federal Credit Union since 2003, and prior to that was at Star Financial Bank. David has his bachelors from Ball State University, his MBA from Anderson University and was recently accepted into the Doctoral program for Business at Anderson University.

David's servant leadership spans decades in Madison County. His most rewarding experience is his work with the "Exchange Club Family Resource Center", now a division of the Children’s Bureau. The volunteer work he did worked to help prevent child abuse in Madison County and raise funds for prevention programs. Jama Donovan, former Senior Program Director of the Children's Bureau, says this about David "I have never worked with someone so dedicated to his community and helping to educate the community on ways to keep kids safe. He values partnerships to make our community a better place for all." David served in support of this organization for 20 years, in Madison County and in state roles as well.

David is the current board chair of the Leadership Academy of Madison County, and also serves on the United Way Board of Directors. He was previously on the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre board of directors. David has been a great example of servant leadership to so many in the Leadership Academy program. He has made time to attend most of the sessions throughout the year, to say hi and touch base with the class. David and his wife are setting up a fund to be able to provide sponsorship to youth to participate in the Youth Leadership Program.

Many who describe David stress how he helps others grow and believe in themselves and he has true servant leaders heart. David is a wonderful example of what a servant leader looks like. We are proud and honored to recognize David Dodd as the 2019 Servant Leader Award Winner.

CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS

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TRUST IN TEAMS

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

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 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NAMED TO LEADERSHIP ACADEMY OF MADISON COUNTY

A letter to friends and alumni of both LAMC and YLA

You can learn more about Carrie and the vast experience she brings to LAMC and YLA by selecting "Read More" in the red box below.  Check it out!

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Anderson High School Senior and 2017 YLA Graduate, Caitlyn Dolenski was recently recognized by the Anderson Noon Rotary Club as the recipient of the Dickmann Youth Community Service Award Winner.  Sally DeVoe (LAMC '06), Executive Director of the Madison County Community Foundation presented the scholarship on behalf of the Foundation. 

Here at Leadership Academy of Madison County, we are proud to call Caitlyn one of own and very proud (though not surprised) that she received this award.  We also want to thank her for selecting Youth Leadership Academy as the recipient of the matching award for all her efforts.  Caitlyn's gift to YLA has been placed in a scholarship fund to allow other youth to be a part of YLA.  

Keep reading for an excerpt from her Rotary comments that will give you a glimpse into this young lady's heart for others.

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BALANCE is a new program designed to help our high school seniors prepare for a successful transiton as they prepare to graduate. We know that our most successful students have a sense of "balance" that comes with understanding and achieving competence in self-awareness and expression, good decision making, managing emotions, and visioning for the future.

Participants will take their YLA journey to the next level with a deeper, more personal look into their future and what they can be doing now to develop the skills that will help them maintain balance as they graduate and begin a new journey in life.

Keep Reading..............

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In partnership with South Madison Community Foundation,  Leadership Academy of Madison County is excited to offer a four part series of workshops designed to take your non profit or civic organization to the next level.  With your support and input, we've developed this series to give community volunteers insight into both the art and science or leading community ogranizations.  Whether you are a staff member or community volunteer, there is something here for you!

We'll here from experienced non profit leaders on topics such as:

• Strategic planning and the development of mission statements
• Board and volunteer development
• Understanding basic financial statements and the insurance needs of a non profit organization
• Strategies for successful fundraising

Join us as we learn together, hearing from our experts and sharing ideas with one another.  Registrations is open to all.  Reserve your space for one or all four workshops by June 5, 2018.  Click here now for more information and to register.

A very special thanks to South Madison Community Foundation for addressing this community need.

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Have you ever found yourself agreeing to serve on a board and then thought, "What do I know about serving on a board?  These "other" people are so much smarter than me.  What are the roles and responsibilities of a board member?"  All too often, we are so flattered to be invited and feel a connection to the mission of the organization that we jump right in without asking the right questions. 

If this sounds familar, you are not alone.  In fact, you are most likely feeling the same as most everyone sitting around the table with you.  How do we know this?  Because we've been there and we hear it from you each year in our program.  You are not alone!  That is why we decided to open our Boardsmanship Basics to our entire community.  

Keep Reading..............

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As we ring in the new year, we're so excited to announce that Leadership Academy of Madison County is one of two East Central Indiana organizations selected to receive an organization effectiveness grant from the Indiana Youth Institute!  As you'll see below, we believe the timing couldn't be better as we strategically plan to expand programming to the youth of Madison County, enabling even more youth to Grow.Serve.Lead. the way to a better future for themselves and their community.

Congratulations to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County and a huge thank you to Ball Brothers Foundation the Indiana Youth Institute for valuing our mission and those we serve!

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Strong communities need strong, generous, and compassionate leaders.

On Saturday, December 9, 2017, twenty non-profit agencies serving Madison County, Indiana, came together for the benefit of our community and those they serve, asking all of us to Give the Gift of Compassion this holiday season.  What an amazing show of support they received.  Over $57,000 was raised in just 3 hours!  Your generosity will go even further thanks to the parital match each gift will receive from Hoosier Park Racing and Casino.  Did we say WOW yet?  

Keep reading to see a list of participating agencies.  Thank you LAMC Class of 2018 for all your hard work in hosting this event.  And, please remember, it' not too late.  There is still plenty of time for that year-end gift to LAMC and YLA.  Click here to make a difference today!  https://thelamc.org/2017-campaign 

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I had heard much about the LAMC program from several others that had completed the program in years past, and all of their comments, thoughts, and feelings were overwhelmingly positive.  While each of those folks shared some of their personal experiences with me, they all said I needed to experience it for myself and I would see the impact it can have on someone.  It took all of about a half a day to understand what they meant.

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The opening retreat of Leadership Academy was like nothing I’d experienced before; we each walked into a room of 36 strangers and walked out as a family. The opportunity to get to know one another on a personal and professional level is invaluable; I’m confident the connections made will continue long after graduation. As a relatively new professional to Madison County I quickly learned that the LAMC is a great investment of time and money.

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One place I draw frequent inspiration is the Peanuts comic strips. Charles Schulz had a remarkable ability to take his life lessons and experiences, and share them through a medium we can all understand: the eyes of a child. What I love most about his characters and storytelling is his vulnerability. You can see through many of the storylines the bits of his past that were trying and bleak. He doesn’t shy away from them. I also so admire the honesty. The honesty to say the things we often feel, but are just wrong. 

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Family. Most define it as those who are related to you by blood. However, after meeting 35 new people who aspire to be a leader just as I do, I realized this is not the case at all. Being genetically related or having the same last name is not what makes you family. Relationships that include trust, support, love, acceptance, commitment, is what makes you family. After camp, I have come to the conclusion that these 35 new people are now family and they fit all the requirements. 

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Being a part of the Youth Leadership Academy has honestly been one of the most amazing and beneficial decisions I have ever made in my entire life. At first I was very nervous, because I did not know what I was getting myself into. Knowing that I was going to be surrounded by over thirty kids that I have never known a day in my life made me second guess joining the program. However, after camp, I would not trade this fantastic experience for anything in the world. 

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On August 1, 2017, the Indiana Leadership Association hosted their Annual Meeting and Conference at the Anderson University Flagship Center.  Leadership Academy of Madison County was honored to host the event and we were proud and excited to have such great representation at the event from our alumni and sponsors.

What made the day even better were the presentations by local alumni and community leaders.  Special thanks to presenters:

• John Pistole, President of Anderson University
• Rob Sparks (LAMC ’10), Executive Director, Corporation for Economic Development
• State Representative Terri Austin (LAMC ’95)
• Dr. James Willey (LAMC ’10), Chancellor Ivy Tech Anderson, for their insight into community leadership development.

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Madison County and all of Central Indiana have so much to be proud of.  Madison Magaznie, a pulication of The Herald Bulletin, recently featured 20 young professionals under the age of 40 who are “driving the local economy and services with energy, creativity and the promise of a brighter future in Madison County.”

Leadership Academy of Madison County is proud to say that 12 of the recently named “20 Under 40” are graduates of LAMC or YLA!  Keep reading for a list of grads of both the adult and youth programs of Madison County.  And, fair warning to all of the other nominees – you are NOW on Pam’s radar.  

The future IS bright and we’re putting our sunglasses on!

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