ESCANABA — I recently had an opportunity to spend the day with the Delta Force Leadership group for Economic Development Day and came away from the session feeling really good about the leadership potential of this year’s class. They are a very smart and engaging group of young leaders. Many of the messages from the speakers during the day and some I try to convey during my presentation; 1) is the need to be a willing listener before we act, 2) find ways to collaborate on projects and initiatives, 3) dream big and share your vision, 4) it is ok to make mistakes, but don’t repeat them and 5) Celebrate our successes. I have found that if we can embrace this set of ideals, we can try to minimize infighting and be more effective to move any project forward towards completion. Another important message I share with the leadership group is to find a board, commission, service organization, volunteer event that ties to something you have a passion for. The participation will be a great experience for our young leaders & will make a big difference in our communities based on their participation.

An example of a young leader would be Escanaba City Manager, Jim McNeil. He stepped into a difficult situation and has done a great job moving the City forward over the past year. He is very confident and intelligent, but is also a willing listener to ensure he has everyone’s viewpoint. He shows his leadership on a daily basis with the interaction with his employees, citizens & boards he works with. Anyone that was concerned that he was too young to take on such an important role, should be very thankful we have someone that is from the area and wants to do everything he can to make his community a great place now & in the future. Our new Delta County administrator, Ashleigh Young has also stepped into a difficult situation, but is showing the leadership and tenacity needed to move the County forward. I look forward to the next year for Ashleigh without some of the obstacles that can derail a young leader. I look forward to her success in her role with the county.

Delta Force has been a staple program to develop young leaders in Delta County for 20 plus years, with about 500 graduates, it is a true feeder pool for leaders in business, government or our community. I already look forward to the 2024 group registration.

As I mentioned, celebrating success is very important in the grand scheme of things. The Chamber annual dinner took place on Thursday, October 12 and we had many reasons to celebrate the successes on 2023. We had an opportunity to recognize the Delta Force graduates and congratulate them on their accomplishments. We took the opportunity to thank many community leaders on their successes during the year. The Delta County EDA & UP Michigan Works presented the Century Award to a business or organization that has been making a difference for over 100 years. I had the pleasure to present the award to the First United Methodist Church based on their community involvement for over 150 years. Their “Coffee Committee” served as great ambassadors greeting our visitors from the American Queen Cruise ships as they had one of their first stops at the Delta County Chamber of Commerce Center. Tourist would get off the bus and be greeted with warm smiles, coffee & fresh baked goods as they got ready to tour the museums. They made a point to be there for all 28 cruise stops and welcomed over 3,000 people to the area

It was a pleasure to recognize their service to the area this year and for all they have done over the last 150 years.

We will miss one of our dedicated area leaders that past away recently. Ron Miaso was involved in the Gladstone DDA and Gladstone EDC for many years. He was also a Delta County Chamber Ambassador for many years, helping at Business After Hours and other Chamber events. Ron and I had the pleasure of attending the Delta Force Leadership program in 2014 together. Ron later served on my Delta County EDA Board as the representative from the City of Gladstone. He was always very committed to everything we worked on together and was a great representative for the City of Gladstone. He will be greatly missed. Rest in Peace, Ron.

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Ed Legault is director of the Delta County Economic Development Alliance