Each effort is a showcase of leadership in action.
Participants in this year’s Leadership Johnson County Signature Program have spent hours focused on changing lives and improving the community.
They toiled alongside a vital agency helping survivors of sexual, domestic and other violence while they prepare to move into a new headquarters. Others have focused on helping a group building wheelchair ramps for those in need, or teaming up with high school agriculture students to help them sell produce at farmers markets.
Initiatives will support youth leadership, outdoor learning and tourism in Johnson County.
“Since our inception, our participants in the Signature Program have engaged in 130 community service projects benefiting our community,” said Tandy Shuck, executive director of Leadership Johnson County. “Six of those are going to be completed by May of this year.”
The group project is a key part of the Signature program — an incubator of local leaders for the past 31 years. Since early September, the 39 members of this year’s program class have learned about different facets of the county, from local government to agritourism to nonprofits.
Tying it all together are the group projects to benefit different organizations and causes.
With applications for both the Signature Program and the teen-oriented Youth Leadership Academy being accepted now, participants wanted to emphasize the impact Leadership Johnson County has had on them.
“The LJC experience has opened so many new doors for me both professionally and casually,” said Erin Cataldi, a member of this year’s class. “Even though I have lived and worked in Johnson County for nearly two decades, this program has really allowed me to get to know my community better and I am so excited to get more involved and ensure that this thriving county continues to be one of the best in the state.”
Since it was founded in 1995, Leadership Johnson County has trained nearly 1,000 local residents to be better leaders and contributors to the local community.
The nonprofit organization came about after area residents expressed concerns about the direction local agencies, businesses and government would go in the future. Duke Energy, known at the time as Cinergy/PSI, conducted a survey to gauge public opinion about the future of leadership in Johnson County. People wondered who would fill future volunteer vacancies and board leadership positions as the current generation of community leaders grew older.
They were also worried that those leaders might not be qualified to lead and serve. Taking those concerns to heart, Duke Energy and Franklin College formed a leadership program for the county.
Leadership Johnson County’s Signature Program was born.
“It is our top-sell experience for leaders. It’s what we’re best known for,” Shuck said.
Those accepted to the program meet once a month, and each class asks students to focus on a different aspect of leadership over nine months. Organizers try to split the curriculum into two parts: leadership skill enhancement and community awareness.
Specific days of the class are divided into categories: media, infrastructure and agriculture, for example.
“We spend about 50% of our time on leadership skills and 50% of our time on community awareness,” Shuck said. “We believe leaders need to know how to lead and where those leadership skills are needed within the community.”
The organization has grown to include special workshops and seminars held throughout the year, focusing on management, women in leadership positions and the power of innovation.
A recent addition to the Leadership Johnson County program is a Youth Leadership Academy. Founded in 2019, the five-month program is designed to bring together a select group of county high school students to learn more about their community and practice leadership skills.
“We’re striving to help those young people become better leaders and ready to take on the next stage of whatever their journey is — whether they’re headed off to college, or headed right into a career,” Shuck said.
Class members have met five times, including an opening retreat last summer, and have learned a variety of skills. They’ve met with different community leaders, including mayors of Franklin and Greenwood, business owners, and heads of organizations to see leadership in practice.
“We’re helping them with things like financial leadership, problem solving, project management, getting a sense of what their definition of leadership is and how they’re going to lead over the course of their life,” Shuck said.
The centerpiece of the Signature Program is the group project. In the first month, participants break off into small groups, with each team required to envision and enact a project that would benefit the community.
This year’s projects touch different segments of the county, but all are united in the effort to improve the lives of local residents.
The Garden of Eatin’ group has partnered with the Franklin Community High School agriculture department to build a farm stand on a 12-feet-long trailer to help students transport some of the products they grow to local farmers markets.
Assisting ASSIST had focused on helping ASSIST Indiana get packed and prepared to move to a new location in the future. Beyond Four Walls has committed to building an outdoor classroom for Clark Pleasant Community School Corp.
Ramp It Up is supporting the agency Servants at Work, which builds ramps for local residents who are having trouble getting into and out of their homes. They are planning a Ramp-A-Thon, to be held on April 11.
Two of the groups are working within Leadership Johnson County, with one aiding the group’s Youth Leadership Academy with a long-term recruitment strategy and promotion, while another is digitizing and updating the historic driving tour that has become an integral part of the Signature Program.
Members of this year’s class have found a variety of benefits in going through the program.
For Stephanie Northern, Leadership Johnson County has been an incredible growth experience both personally and professionally.
“I was challenged to go outside my comfort zone and also had the opportunity to learn skills and principles to make me a better leader. The invaluable information about Johnson County during each program session will allow me to be a better leader and business owner in the community,” she said. “Finally, the class has offered me the opportunity to develop relationships with others in the class and alumni that enriched the experience.”
The educational aspects of the program have been eye-opening for Kimberly Jewell.
“It has afforded me the opportunity to get to know people in Johnson County that I would not have had the opportunity to get to know,” she said. “It has made Johnson County feel smaller in the best way possible.”
Brad Goedeker had known about Leadership Johnson County for years, but never fully investigated it. He was glad that he finally did.
“It introduced me to a number of peers that are similar in their desire to make a difference to my community,” he said. “I have learned a great deal about county history, improved my confidence as a leader, and have a much greater understanding of economic development. More importantly, I have a better understanding of what resources are available for those in need and how I can directly impact the community for the better based upon this.”