By Sarah Light, staff writer

Only a few days remain until the application deadline for the new community-based leadership program sponsored by the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce and Riverland Community College.

Organizers are encouraging anyone who might have interest in learning more about the area and who have a desire to increase their community involvement to apply.

As of Tuesday morning, about a dozen applications had been turned in, said Lois Nelson, business consultant at Riverland Community College.

Nelson said she&8217;s hoping people spent some of their free time over Memorial Day weekend to fill out the application. As long as the forms are postmarked no later than June 1, they will be accepted.

The new program, Leadership, is open to up to 20 Albert Lea or Freeborn County residents of any age who choose to apply. Participants are selected on their individual merits by a selection committee in a competitive admission process.

The program will be held in eleven monthly sessions starting in August and running through June on the third Tuesday of each month. Class members meet for a full day each month, learning about topics such as the business community, politics, education, quality of life, health care, human services, law, media and diversity.

During the classes, participants will have the opportunity to share ideas with each other and with other community leaders.

Some of the community leaders who will be helping with the classes are Steve Bowron, dean of Albert Lea&8217;s Riverland Community College; Heidi Cunningham, director of Albert Lea Community Education; David Bonnerup, executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County; Matt Benda, chairman of the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce; Cindi Muth, with patient education at the Albert Lea Medical Center; Victoria Simonsen, city manager of Albert Lea; Roger Lonning, member of the Freeborn County Historical Society Foundation; and Ryan Nolander, business development director at the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency.

All sessions will be facilitated locally at different locations.

&8220;It&8217;s just a tremendous opportunity,&8221; Benda said. &8220;It&8217;s my belief that all of our local leaders are obligated to raise our community profile. I think this program allows us to develop and educate our future leaders.&8221;

Benda said the program has been well-received by people throughout the community thus far.

&8220;Any time the concept has been presented I have had lots of people show interest,&8221; he said. &8220;Certainly we&8217;re going to have a very qualified candidate pool.&8221;

The candidates will represent a cross-section of the community with different backgrounds. They will share three basic characteristics: The ability to set and achieve personal goals, a demonstrated personal commitment to community service and a record achievement in community involvement indicating past accomplishments and potential leadership abilities.

Nelson said organizers are hoping to have good community representation in the class so there will be a lot of energy. Participants can be anyone from a homemaker to a student to a CEO.

&8220;Albert Lea is certainly on the cutting edge of growth and community issues,&8221; Nelson said. The &8220;Leadership&8221; program is a great opportunity for people who are new to their responsibility or who are new residents in Freeborn County to learn from this area&8217; leaders, she said.

&8220;A lot of people have put a lot of good energy into designing the program,&8221; she said.

Interested applicants can pick up an application form at the Chamber of Commerce on 701 Marshall St.

Applications can also be returned to: Leadership, Riverland Community College, Training & Development, 2200 Riverland Dr., Albert Lea, MN 56007.

The program is approved as a two-credit course. Tuition cost is $650, payable at the time a participant is accepted to candidacy. Scholarship assistance may be available for qualified candidates.

Winning candidates will be notified the third week in June.

For more information, contact Nelson at (800) 205-4987.