Heather Willis Lewis Graduates with the 2013 Leadership Lycoming Class

In June of 2013, LLA member Heather Willis Lewis, of the McNerney Page Vanderlin & Hall law firm, was among 24 members of the Lycoming County community to graduate from the Leadership Lycoming program.  The program, established in 1988, is a specialized training program designed to understand the needs of the community it serves and develop and motivate effective leaders committed to utilizing their skills and talents for the betterment of their community.

The program opens with a two-day retreat in September that emphasizes communication processes, leadership effectiveness, and the matrix of community organizations. Once a month, from October through May, participants attend day-long sessions on subjects such as law, education, health and community service.

The program also includes a community service element.  Heather's group worked with Habitat for Humanity to develop a marketing plan for the current year that could serve as a template for a long-range marketing strategy. In producing the integrated, multimedia marketing and communications plan, the team identified three major goals of the plan – increase public awareness, expand the number of volunteers with specific skill sets, and increase and sustain donations to the organization. The group also pinpointed critical success factors that included securing the full support and participation by the Executive Director, creating a Board-level Outreach and Communication Committee, integrating the marketing plan with ReStore efforts and establishing a permanent budget for marketing and communication.

Congratulations to Heather Willis Lewis for her accomplishment. Also, good luck to Marc F. Demshock, also of the McNerney Page Vanderlin & Hall law firm; who is a member of the 2014 Leadership Lycoming class.