The people of Lima face issues every day. And they are some of the same issues seen across the state of Ohio. Leadership Ohio brought their program to Lima to gather community leaders for interactive discussions to specific problems.
"The leaders in this class, right now, they are looking to see what they can do," Lisa Duty said, executive director of Leadership Ohio. "What their impact might be post-graduation from the program these are people that are some of Ohio’s best talent. They’re intellectuals, they’re entrepreneurs, they’re influencers, they’re doers, they’re dreamers."
The program aims to develop leaders to influence their areas across the state. The class in Lima, on Friday and Saturday, addressed foster care and human trafficking, the opioid and vaping epidemic and infant mortality rates. Ohio has some of the worst numbers on all three issues. The reason these discussions are happening in Lima is because of program alumni, board member, and Allen County resident, Londell Smith.
"What most people don’t understand is that we’re leading the way in some of the strategies to help address these issues," said Smith. "When we look at the opioid crisis and the vaping epidemic and infant mortality there are things that we’re doing in our community, the resources we’ve pooled together the talent that we have that can really address these issues."
Duty said in the two-day class, she’s heard empathy and curiosity, but what happens next is the most important part in affecting change.
"Well sometimes there - you have to concentrate on the strategy of implementation before you can implement it because you want to make sure the steps that you take and the process that you lay out, have sustainability," Smith said.
Participants also took a tour of the Allen County Museum and the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center.
