Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Leadership Nevada County graduated thirteen

It was graduation night for the first group of Leadership Nevada County, Tuesday, Dec. 4.

A total of 13 Nevada County residents received plaques for completing the year's training in leadership.

"It's really something for 13 people to commit to one day per month for a year to do something they're not getting paid for," said Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office.

The group spent a busy year, as was shown in a PowerPoint presentation.

It began with a retreat in January, where they were able to have some fun shooting skeet.

They also went to Little Rock to learn how state government works, and met with Gov. Mike Huckabee, along with representatives Sandra Rodgers and Tommy Roebuck, as well as State Sen. Percy Malone.

Next up was a visit to the past, as they learned of the region's history with a trip to Old Washington State Park. While there, the group visited the 1836 courthouse, the blacksmith shop, the armory and print shop.

From there, the 13 returned to Prescott and Nevada County, where they toured the Depot Museum, had a question and answer session with local health care providers, visited the Day Services Center and Split Rail, along with touring Medical Park Hospital in Hope and talking with Congressman Mike Ross.

Each of the group was required to attend meetings of the Nevada County Quorum Court, a school board meeting and a city council meeting to help them learn how each entity functions.

They also visited the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, the Nevada County Cooperative Extension Service, the Arkansas Department of Economic Development and Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development District.

Their studies included the use of economic development materials, a tour of Potlatch, and a developmental planning workshop.

Law enforcement wasn't forgotten either, as the 13 visited the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, the Nevada County Courthouse, the Prescott Police Department and Arkansas State Police.

One of the more fun aspects was the firearm training simulator each "leader" participated in. The simulator puts people in situations where they must decide whether or not to use a firearm, or deadly force. With it being electronic, the "students" shooting skills were also analyzed.

From there it was on to cultural diversity, where they talked about their backgrounds, learned about African-American history in Nevada County, talked with representatives of the Ila Upchurch Community Corporation, Boys II Men, Girls II Women.

They learned about the quality of life in the region with visits with the Artesian Arts League, the Prescott Beautification Committee, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club and Rotary Club, Mural Park, White Oak Lake State Park and the Nevada County Library.

On the education front, the group toured Prescott, Emmet and Nevada schools, along with the new gymnasium under construction on the Prescott High School campus.

They then faced putting what they learned into practical application with projects. Chadwell said the 13 were divided into three groups and had to come up with projects to complete.

Each group also had to develop their project from the ground up, including finding funding and materials as needed.

Ron Wright, Prescott superintendent, spoke for the first group, and detailed how they obtained funds from the Firestone Community Fund to purchase materials and make SOS flags.

The need for the flags was shown during the ice storm of 2001, when some residents were unable to leave their homes and had no way to signal for help.

The red and white flags will be distributed to the elderly and infirm to be flown in emergency situations.

They were made by students in the Prescott Family and Consumer Science program.

Wright said they are now working with other schools to do this throughout the county.

Kent Hendrix, with the Nevada County Branch Bank of Delight, was the spokesman for group two. He said they first discussed finding generators to help run the city's water, as the ice storm was also on their mind, and bathing wasn't a regular occurrence due to the lack of water.

This, though, didn't pan out and the group tried another idea  setting up an auxiliary police department. This also fell through.

They finally settled on a community Crime Watch program. An officer with the Hope Police Department came to Prescott providing information on how to set up crime watch neighborhoods.

Now, Hendrix said, every community in Nevada County is eligible to have crime watch neighborhoods.

John McCoy talked for the third group.

The ice storm was on everyone's mind, but group three decided to do something on electrical safety and contacted Entergy.

Entergy representatives brought the company's electricity simulator to the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

They were shown what happens when a person touches a live wire, and told how they're literally cooked from the inside-out when electrocuted.

The group also obtained safety pamphlets from Entergy and passed them out at the health fair.

In all, Chadwell said, there were 81 presenters who talked to the Leadership Nevada County group. Of this, 80 volunteered their time to the project, while one had to be paid.

After the graduation ceremonies were over, friendship awards were passed out, with each person getting one. These "awards" were humorous certificates tied to events that happened during the year.

Chadwell issued the group a challenge, urging them to use the knowledge they obtained during the year to improve life in Nevada County.

"There were a lot of talents in the class," Chadwell said. "The 13 of you have a better overview of Nevada County than any 13 people we could have picked.

"You have been given knowledge and information, and you can find the answers to questions and know what to do with them.

"It's not everyday n a small town 13 people will dedicate a year and not get paid just to learn about their community and learn to lead."

Chadwell said they could make a difference, and if they use the knowledge they earned during the year, there's no telling where Nevada County will be in the future.

"Lead us wisely," he said. "Lead us well. The future is in your hands."