Leadership Kansas to open 2010 season in Lawrence

This year’s members

Benjamin Anderson, Ashland, CEO for Ashland Health Center; Philip Anderson, Wichita, chief financial officer and treasurer for Spirit AeroSystems; Grant Bannister, Manhattan, legal Counsel for Knopp & Bannister PA; Jarrod Bartlett, Cheney, communications/public relations for The Boeing Co.; and Blake Benson, Pittsburg, president for the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

Also: Christopher Bierbaum, Overland Park, general manager for mobile commerce for Sprint; Charles Blaser, Lawrence, executive director for the Douglas County Community Foundation Inc.; Kristina Boone, Manhattan, professor and department head at Kansas State University; state Sen. Terry Bruce, R-Hutchinson, and attorney for Forker, Suter & Rose LLC; and Cindy Carnahan, Wichita, broker associate for J.P. Weigand & Sons Inc.

Also: Roy Cessna, Garden City, public information coordinator for Garden City public schools; Patricia Crowell, Clearwater, director of global education services for LSI Corp.; Roger Eastwood, Wichita, executive vice president for Intrust bank; Jennifer Eslinger, Overland Park, chief operating officer for Menorah Medical Center; and Junetta Everett, Wichita, vice president for professional relations for Delta Dental of Kansas.

Also: Patrick Gideon, Topeka, president of Silver Lake Bank; Mary Hammond, Hays, member services coordinator for KaMMCO / Kansas Medical Society; Julie Hower, Council Grove, vice president and trust officer for Farmers and Drovers Bank; Kevin Istas, Bonner Springs, senior vice president of operations, western region, for Walton Construction; and Nancy Jackson, Eudora, executive director for Climate & Energy Project.

Also: Ashley Kallman, Atchison, co-owner of Atchison Automotive Group; Lori Keegan, Topeka, president and CEO for Transition By Design Inc.; Wallace Meyer Jr., De Soto, director of entrepreneurship programs at Kansas University; Guy Mills, Goodland, president of Northwest Kansas Technical College; and Jim Ogle, Topeka, general manager for WIBW Channels.

Also: Denise Ott, Fort Riley, executive director for Junction City-Geary County Military Affairs Council; Randall Partington, Garden City, assistant county administrator and director of human resources, Finney County; Randy Pryor, Chanute, plant manager, Ash Grove Cement Co.; Debra Rodenbaugh, Manhattan, work force response coordinator for KansasWorks; and Erik Sartorius, Topeka, assistant city manager and director of external affairs for the city of Overland Park.

Also: Monica Scheibmeir, Topeka, dean of the School of Nursing at Washburn University; Alan Soldan, Topeka, director of operations for the Kansas Army National Guard; Diane Stiles, Norton, executive director for Norton City/County Economic Development; Tracy Streeter, Valley Falls, director and the Kansas Water Office; and Chadwick Taylor, Topeka, Shawnee County district attorney.

Also: Ross Vogel, Galena, president of LBD Inc. and Vogel Properties; Marlou Wegener, Berryton, chief operating officer of the BCBSKS Foundation at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas; David Whetstone, Howard, managing veterinarian, Countryside Pet Clinic; Brent Wiedeman, Colby, president and CEO of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Colby; and Terrance Wilson, Lawrence, director of customer and community relations for Westar Energy.

Sign up about 150 of the state’s most influential leaders in business, government and community service, all to welcome another 40 others eager to learn and connect.

Next, offer the men and women opportunities to enjoy behind-the-scenes glimpses of some of Lawrence’s most unique assets, before gathering them all at the Lawrence Arts Center to launch yet another year of Leadership Kansas, the annual program from the Kansas Chamber that has been educating and motivating leaders for more than three decades.

Lawrence will be at center stage, putting on a show for program alumni and newcomers who already command respect through their occupations and community involvement — ties that only look to become stronger and more wide-reaching during the next six months and beyond.

“We’ve been given a great opportunity,” said Joan Golden, a 1985 graduate of Leadership Kansas and organizer for Friday’s 2010 Leadership Summit in Lawrence. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase our community.”

About 150 program alumni are expected to attend events during the summit, which will welcome the 40 new participants to Leadership Kansas.

Four area residents are in this year’s class, chosen from among 627 nominees: Charles Blaser, Lawrence, executive director for the Douglas County Community Foundation Inc.; Nancy Jackson, Eudora, executive director for Climate & Energy Project; Wallace Meyer Jr., De Soto, director of entrepreneurship programs at Kansas University; and Terrance Wilson, Lawrence, director of customer and community relations for Westar Energy.

Summit participants will be given opportunities to tour Bowersock Mills & Power Co., Allen Fieldhouse or the Dole Institute of Politics. An evening reception will include a keynote speech by Hal Ritter, who received his journalism degree at Kansas University, worked early in his career at the Journal-World and now is business editor for The Associated Press.

This year’s Leadership Kansas program will run for six months, with participants set to visit other Kansas communities to learn about important statewide issues involving manufacturing, research, economic development and others.

“The point is to try to bring people more in touch with what’s going on in the state,” said Golden, senior vice president for US Bank in Lawrence. “It’s really to let more people understand the diversity within our state. The more understanding that can take place, the better off we’ll be as a state.”