By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | March 14, 2009
Sem Yeto High School principal Bud Sexton talks to the Leadership Today participants during a tour of the school's facilities. Photo by Mike Greener
FAIRFIELD - One month a hospital, the next a military base and the next a candy factory.
The Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Today program checked 'school' off its to-do list on Friday, visiting the Sam Yeto Continuation School in Fairfield.
The program is aimed at up-and-coming leaders in the community. Classes are held one day each month at various sites across the community. The current class includes Fire Chief Vince Webster and Deputy Police Chief Paul Bockrath.
Webster, who was promoted to chief in June 2008, said the program is aimed at 'people who want to take on high-level positions and influential positions in the community.'
Jan Maguire, who runs the program and a similar one in Vacaville, said community involvement is a primary objective.
'Our big goal is that the graduates of this program will then go on to serve on boards and committees and commissions, that they will take a more active role in the community and help improve the quality of life,' Maguire said. 'They should know about some different aspects of our community.'
The inaugural Fairfield class in 2007 included Police Chief Kenton Rainey, Community Development Director Eve Somjen and City Councilman Matt Garcia. Rainey and Somjen had been recently promoted to the top jobs in their respective departments, and Garcia was a first-time councilman.
In addition to the site visits, each class volunteers for various community events throughout the year and works on a season-ending project. For the 2007-08 group, it was a community-wide fundraiser that ended up benefiting the Matt Garcia Youth Center.
The current group is looking at the possibility of a career fair, Bockrath said.
'There are a lot of interesting careers out there,' Bockrath said. 'It is an opportunity for kids to come together and see what they're good at.'
The leadership program concept is new to Fairfield, although it is not exclusive to it. Leslie Fay, executive director of the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce, worked with a similar program when she was with the Chamber of Commerce in Danville, Ill.
'A lot of bigger chambers already have them (and) some of the smaller city chambers are starting to come around,' Fay said. 'They find a tremendous value in them.'
Prospective applicants to the program should look for information on the Chamber of Commerce's Web site toward the end of summer, Maguire said. The program starts in October and runs through June.
Reach Ben Antonius at 427-6977 or bantonius@dailyrepublic.net.
