Leadership Sikeston graduates first class

SIKESTON -- Although a big part of the workforce in Sikeston was born and raised in the community, they don't know the inner workings of the city and its industry.

About a year and a half ago, members of the Sikeston Young Professionals, a subset of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce, recognized this and suggested doing some sort of a leadership course. And earlier this year, Leadership Sikeston took shape, with the first class graduating and receiving plaques as their diplomas during Thursday's monthly SACC luncheon.

"We thought 'Let's take a group of like-minded young individuals and try to teach them about Sikeston,'" said Matt Drake, one of the individuals who spearheaded the class.

Organizers, who also attended the classes, decided to cap the group at 15. They then had an organizational session, in which they set up the course from the number and length of sessions to what would be addressesed.

"We decided to have six full-day sessions, each with their own theme," explained Drake. Those included: city government, agriculture, healthcare, education, economic development and a day learning about the Depot, Sikeston Little Theater and SACC. Each day looked at all of the aspects in the community -- for instance, the agriculture theme looked at phases from the seed to field to production, explained Drake.

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