The founder and director of the Leadership Park City, a yearlong training program dating to the 1990s that boasts an alumni list bursting with Park City mayors and councilors, Summit County officials, not-for-profit executives, activists and others, is preparing to retire from the role.
Myles Rademan has directed the program since it launched in 1995. He will remain with Leadership Park City through the graduation of the current class in October 2024. Rademan was the public affairs director at City Hall at the time of the founding of Leadership Park City. He left the full-time post with the municipal government 16 years ago but remained with Leadership Park City, which is closely linked to City Hall.
“Quite frankly, I’m pleased about its longevity,” Rademan said.
He noted Leadership Park City continues to receive upward of 100 applications annually for 35 spots each year. He also said the current iteration of the program still resembles its early years.
There are approximately 900 graduates of Leadership Park City. Mayor Nann Worel is an alumnus, as is former three-term Mayor Dana Williams.
The program dates to an era of spectacular growth in Park City and surrounding Summit County. The 1990s witnessed a doubling of the population of Summit County, and there was rapid development to keep pace. Leadership Park City aimed to help Parkites through an era of change by preparing people to take on greater roles in the community. The monthly program sessions focus on broad topics impacting the area, such as growth, the functions of government and the economy.
“The issues haven’t changed that much over the years,” Rademan said, adding that the leadership aspects of the training also remained largely constant.
He pointed to topics like traffic and development as issues that have stretched through the decades of the program.
The program brings each class to the Capitol for a session centered on the state government and there is a Leadership 101 gathering annually that touches on numerous aspects of the community. The five-day fact-finding City Tour to other communities in the region is also a key element of the program. Leadership Park City’s next session, scheduled on Monday, is scheduled to address the operations of government at the local level during stops at the Marsac Building and the County Courthouse.
The upcoming retirement of Rademan from Leadership Park City will largely end his public role in the community after 30-plus years of holding key positions. He arrived as the planning director at City Hall in 1987 before becoming the public affairs director two years later. Rademan held instrumental roles in the municipal government’s heralded open space program and in the preparations for the 2002 Winter Olympics. His work stretched from Main Street to the entryways and he is seen as one of the architects of modern-era Park City.
City Hall recently posted the Leadership Park City program director opening. A timeline for the recruitment was not clear.