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The Unexpected Outcome of Leadership Grand Traverse
By Cheryl Lohner
As published in the May 2007 issue of the Traverse City Business News
Like so many others, I enrolled in Leadership Grand Traverse to learn more about my community. But to be honest with you, I knew it would also provide great business contacts and give me the opportunity to rub elbows with other leaders in the community.
As my year with Leadership Grand Traverse progressed, something interesting happened. I found myself thinking less and less about my new found business connections and more and more about the great need in local non-profit agencies, not just for volunteers, but for leadership as well.
I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to make a living here and call this beautiful area home. But like so many others, I had not truly acknowledged the depth of need in our community. I had done my part, or so I told myself, by taking part in a golf outing or other charity events and writing the proverbial $100 check. It was easy there, in my busy life, to believe that was enough. Perhaps subconsciously I looked the other way, knowing if I did acknowledge the great need in our community, I would have to admit that I had not done enough. However, after completing my year with Leadership Grand Traverse, I found myself looking directly in the face of my community’s need and asking, "How can I help?" I began to realize that my expertise, connections, and leadership abilities could play a critical roll in helping a local non-profit agency grow and improve.
In 2005 I was elected President of the Board of Directors for Third Level Crisis Center. My involvement with Third Level has opened numerous doors for me and brought me in contact with people I now call friends. It has also provided the opportunity to work with other non-profit agencies as well. But most importantly, the personal gifts that I took for granted are now helping worthy organizations make a larger impact on the community.
I often ask my clients, "What is your personal brand? When someone talks about you, what do they say?" I’d like to think when someone talks about me they say, "I know Cheryl. She’s on the Board at Third Level Crisis Center. What a great organization. They’re doing wonderful things in our community." I like the sound of that.
© 2007 Cheryl Lohner. All rights reserved. You are free to use this material in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the materials will appear.
The attribution should read:
"By Cheryl Lohner of Create a Buzz Marketing, LLC. Please visit Cheryl’s web site at www.createabuzzmarketing.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for service professionals and their businesses." (Make sure the link is live if placed in an eZine or in a web site.)
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