Dave Schulz, Madison County Commissioner from District 1, is now one of five Montanans to attend and complete the selective County Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C.
The 10th Annual CLI was held June 2-6. Presented by the National Association of Counties, Schulz said it was an incredible privilege to be considered and selected to participate. The Montana Association of Counties considers all Montana county commissioners for nomination and selects one to recommend to NACO. Only 24 people are chosen nationwide to attend.
“I got to work with incredible people and do some very intense training,” Schulz said. “I learned things that I will use every day and have tools and knowledge to bring back home.”
Schulz said each day was packed full of training that made him step outside his comfort zone and he even had homework to do during the evenings. He added that he enjoyed how the presenters put a different view on issues and the training.
County officials from Pondera, Lewis and Clark, Phillips, and Ravalli counties have attended in the past. MACO paid for Schulz’s participation and the county paid for his airfare.
The Institute has graduated more than 200 members from 44 states and 172 counties across the United States. It is known for enhancing the capacity of county officials to identify and implement innovative solutions to the complex challenges facing county government today. This year’s program focused closely on the demands of personal leadership in a new era of government, one characterized as a “permanent crisis” by CLI Program Developer and Cambridge Leadership co-founder Marty Linsky.
According to the NACO website, these county leaders not only discuss the core principles of public service leadership with prominent experts, they also collaborate intensively with each other to develop new ways to attack real-life issues of importance to the citizens of their counties.