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Power Elites Sponsor New Leadership South Dakota Program

Last updated on 2014.05.28

Twitter alerts me to a new program, Leadership South Dakota, designed "to attract engaged citizens from across the state, then provide them with the background, unique experiences and insights necessary to assume leadership positions at the community, state and national levels." Leadership South Dakota sounds very much like a state-level version of Leadership Madison and other local leadership classes.

The folks behind Leadership South Dakota also look very much like what we see at the local level: members of the power elites happily herding up-and-comers into their proper pens. Staffing Leadership South Dakota are GOP/education establishment pals Rick Melmer and Tom Oster. Testimonializing for Leadership South Dakota is John Thune financier Jeff Erickson. Sponsoring the program are the usual characters: Sanford Health, First Premier Bank, Daktronics, Lawrence & Schiller, the Ramkota....

The Leadership South Dakota application asks applicants to "Describe the most notable opportunity and most significant threat facing South Dakota today." They provide three lines for a response.

Our greatest opportunity to recruit young people of diverse views to challenge our greatest threat, a monolithic and insular political culture.

Now if I can just come up with $3,000....

I'd like for Leadership South Dakota to surprise me by gathering and encouraging a diverse set of leaders who would challenge the established order that most of the sponsors represent. I hope they'll reach beyond their circle of usual suspects and foster new leaders who maybe don't have access to $50 to apply, let alone $3,000 to participate, or who don't have well-to-do employers willing to foot that bill, the additional travel expenses, and the inconvenience of replacement workers while their leaders-in-training are off getting experiences, skills, and access.

Applications are due May 30. The program starts September 11 in Brookings, hopscotches monthly to Rapid City, Pierre, Kyle, Sioux Falls, and Aberdeen, then graduates its fresh leaders in April at Chamberlain.

11 Comments

  1. lee schoenbeck 2014.03.24

    Cory,
    I had the opportunity to talk with Dr Melmer. I believe they are also working to line up scholarships. This is a very well intentioned effort, give them a chance

  2. John Tsitrian 2014.03.24

    I notice their website says that there are "financial assistant" funds available, way down at the bottom.

  3. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.03.24

    Indeed it does! I am pleased to see exactly that sort of financial outreach. Now, how well will they do on philosophical outreach?

  4. John Tsitrian 2014.03.24

    I hope their copy editor will note the diff between concrete and abstract nouns and make it "assistance." The word "funds" is a redundancy. Not often a grammar nanny, but these people are among the top educators in the state. Their public missives should reflect that.

  5. Deb Geelsdottir 2014.03.24

    John, a man named Stephen Wilber writes a weekly column in the Business section of the Strib. It's about good, effective writing. He covers everything, including grammar, word choice, sentence structure, redundancy, etc. I read it every week because it's helpful to everyone.

    I recommend his latest column, and the rest of them, to all Madizens:

    http://www.startribune.com/business/251556901.html

  6. Donald Pay 2014.03.24

    This isn't "leadership development." This is about career climbing on the part of the participants, but mostly, it's about the power elite finding toadies and ciphers who are going to do the bidding of the power structure.

    Real leadership develops in a far different manner. Anyone who has worked in a grassroots effort understands that real leadership develops from the bottom up, not from some top-down "grooming" effort. Generally, it emanates from community concerns or issues, and the person starts tentatively, gaining experience through participation, not by paying money to rub elbows with the elite.

  7. John Tsitrian 2014.03.24

    Thanks Deb. Good piece, dead on. Economy is the best friend of every writer. I'll bookmark the site.

  8. Roger Cornelius 2014.03.24

    Donald Pay,

    Are you suggesting that this leadership workshop is a mini concentration to make little boys and girls money grabbing Republicans?

  9. Francie 2014.03.25

    If Leadership South Dakota was a sincere effort to engage citizens across the state, there would be no fees attached. Every organization from Farm Bureau to Dakota Rural Action to South Dakota Health Care Assn. to on campus student groups, etc., should be asked to have a place at this table.

  10. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.03.25

    Could those organizations be brought together to subsidize entry for all interested applicants? How many applicants could they support? And is it worth $3000 per person? I wonder what that money will be spent on....

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