Will the future leaders of Fountain Hills please stand up?

The Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association announces a new program to help educate potential new local leaders.

A comprehensive Fountain Hills Leadership Academy is being offered by the FHCCA as a means to better inform select citizens about the community.

The eight-week course is an intense immersion into the town’s governmental processes, civic and community services, public safety and environmental management.

This first-ever academy will run from Sept. 15 through Nov. 10, and a group of 15 residents will be chosen for the inaugural class of FHLA.

“Our express goal is to create better-informed citizens and future leaders for our town,” said Jenny Willigrod, FHCCA president.

The program is being modeled after other successful programs such as Scottsdale Leadership Academy, the Flinn-Brown Academy and others across the country.

“We are excited about this Leadership Academy and the ongoing possibilities with regard to helping groom future leaders and produce better-informed citizens,” said Dori Wittrig, a real estate broker and member of the organizing committee.

The idea came from the recent VisionFH workshop and related meetings.

Participants are being asked to commit to eight weeks of education on Thursday mornings, starting at 8:30 a.m. and continuing through the lunch hour.

The general sessions are as follows:

*Fountain Hills Sanitary District facilities, Fountain Park pumping and SunRidge Canyon Golf Club effluent usage.

*Public Safety Day and Fort McDowell Day.

*Senior Services Day.

*Youth Services Day.

*Know Your Town Day.

*Environmental Stewardship Day and Chamber of Commerce Day.

*Local Schools Day.

*Cultural and Civic Engagement.

*Graduation.

“The Leadership Academy represents a strong public-private collaboration involving government entities, businesses, service organizations and many other groups,” Willigrod said.

“This will become a prestigious program in Fountain Hills and lead to a better-informed public.

“Many people don’t understand all the complex issues in town along with the behind-the-scenes efforts being done to make this a great community.

“This Leadership Academy will prepare a citizen to take leadership positions in town on an ongoing basis.”

Besides Willigrod and Wittrig, other committee volunteers include Donna Beers, Clayton Corey, John Craft, Mike Scharnow, Scott Schlossberg and Dawn Woods.

Academy sponsors so far include Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate, The Times, Farmers Insurance Agency, Fountain View Village, Thrivent Financial, Chamber of Commerce, Broker’s Alliance and Tolis Mortgage USA.

While a select list of potential participants have already been contacted, the committee is open to hearing from others who want to participate in this academy or future ones.

Organizers are seeking additional sponsors at a cost of $250. Sponsors will have the opportunity to share with the participants information about their business and will be included in all marketing materials. For details or if interested, contact Dori Wittrig via mail at doriw@sonoranlifestyle.com.

More information is available by visiting the FHCCA website at fhcultural-civic.org.