A local agent with Farm Bureau Financial Services, Jeff Dentlinger, has been so impressed with the eight-month Leadership Iowa program he is currently enrolled in that he wants to help bring the same type of experience to area youth. Business Horizons is another program through the Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation (ABI) and offers high school students the opportunity to spend a week at Central College over the summer to learn what it takes to run a business, to discover their leadership skills and to look to what Iowa has to offer for their future. Dentlinger says he will be partnering with Coon Rapids Community Development Director, Katie Mason, to sponsor two local students’ registration costs.
Jessi Steward, director of programs for ABI, says registration for Business Horizons is open now and they like to have the applications in by early July. However, they will take them until the week before the program, which is July 14 through July 18. There are some incentives for signing up early.
Right now, the tuition cost is $325 with the discount. There are typically about 80 to 100 students who take part in the program that develops the future leaders of the state of Iowa. Steward says the students themselves report how valuable this week is to them seeing the path to a successful future, especially after they meet with a variety of different business and industry leaders from Iowa.
ABI doesn’t stop there with their leadership development programs, however. They also sponsor an August one for college sophomores through seniors called Leadership Iowa University. Registration for that program is open and does cap at 30 participants with a $500 tuition cost. This four-day event brings the college students together with Iowa professionals and they get to discover what makes Iowa an ideal place to work, live and raise a family while the hone their professional skills. These attendees will also take part in the Young Professionals of Iowa conference. High school students from Coon Rapids-Bayard interested in being sponsored by Detlinger and Mason in the Business Horizons program can get more details through the contact points below. Any area businesses who would like to consider a sponsorship or participation in either Business Horizons or Leadership Iowa University can contact Steward through the information also included here.
_________________________________
Business Horizons sponsorship opportunities, contact Jeff Dentlinger:
Phone: 712-792-9296
Email: Jeff.Dentlinger@fbfs.com
Leadership Iowa University opportunities:
Phone: 515-280-8000 or 515-235-0570
Email: info@leadershipiowauniversitycom
