This month, we proud­ly launched the third year of Leadership LaGrange County—a program that continues to grow in strength, purpose, and impact since the LaGrange County Economic De­velopment Corporation re-imagined it in late 2021. What began as a revitalized vision for cultivating local leadership has now evolved into a dynamic, collabora­tive experience.

2025 Leadership LaGrange, An Initiative of LaGrange County EDC and LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce

This year, we’ve joined forces with the LaGrange Chamber of Commerce to deliver a thoughtfully designed curriculum fo­cused on both personal and professional development. The 2025 cohort, made up of fifteen individu­als from a wide variety of backgrounds—business and banking, healthcare, entrepreneurship, philan­thropy, farming, and young professionals—will meet on the third Friday of each month from May through November, with a gradua­tion luncheon scheduled for December.

Sessions will run from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., rotating through locations across LaGrange County to give participants a broad view of the county. Each session includes focused training around leadership and development topics as well as a monthly pan­el discussion spotlighting civic leadership in action— highlighting opportunities for engagement, service, and impact across the county. What makes this program especially unique to LaGrange County is that every session and panel features local leaders and homegrown talent—ensur­ing participants learn di­rectly from the people who live and lead successfully right here in our own com­munities.
We kicked things off with a full-day summit on May 16th centered around Gallup’s Clifton Strengths assessment. Prior to attend­ing, each participant took the assessment to identi­fy their top five strengths from a set of 34. During the session—led by local Strengths Coach and ca­reer HR professional Jenny Landez—participants ex­plored how their individ­ual strengths can show up as assets or challenges in both team and community settings. It was a powerful, introspective way to begin the journey and set the tone for the months ahead.

This program is about more than individual growth. It’s a direct re­sponse to a shared vision for LaGrange County’s future, as outlined in the LaGrange County Togeth­er Comprehensive Plan. Specifically, Action Item QL 13 calls on us to “En­courage civic leadership,” recognizing that the future of our community depends on preparing the next gen­eration to lead. By offering opportunities for leader­ship training, mentoring, and connection, we’re lay­ing the groundwork for a thriving, civically engaged county.

As we move forward, we’re excited to see how these leaders will grow— and how their energy, ideas, and commitment will rip­ple across LaGrange Coun­ty. Leadership LaGrange County is about investing in people, because when our people grow, our com­munities grow, too.

So, what else from the plan have we been work­ing on? New housing proj­ects: LU 16 Continue sup­porting the 2021 Housing Strategy. A utility study along South Milford’s rail corridor: LU 15 Explore opportunities for emerging or specialty markets, EC 10 Evaluate opportunities for expansion of rail-served businesses. The LaGrange County Innovation Center: EC 5 Launch a small busi­ness development program. Quality of life and beautifi­cation projects in the town of LaGrange: EC 9 Support pop-up or temporary mar­kets in vacant areas, RI 3 Improve pedestrian safety and streetscape on Detroit Street (SR-9) in LaGrange. Investigated Broadband Ready Communities pro­gramming: RI 9 Pursue ad­ditional broadband funding opportunities, and a new Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan: QL 15 Share the 2019 Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan with key organiza­tions. For more information about the plan please visit www.lagrangecountyto­gether.org or reach out to me at ebuller@lagrangecountyedc.com

Published On: May 28, 2025Categories: LaGrange County Together, LCEDC News

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