Park City is seeking future leaders for the community.
The annual Leadership Park City program is recruiting for its next class. The application deadline is Aug. 21. The program selects approximately 35 people each year from the 100 to 120 anticipated applications.
Leadership Park City is essentially a primer for people who want to learn how the Park City area operates.
The program dates to the 1990s, and the upcoming class will be the 33rd. Leadership Park City launched during an era of change that accompanied a population boom in the community. The program continues to provide class members with a grounding and prepare them to take on more prominent roles in the Park City area.
The program has more than 900 alumni. A series of Leadership Park City graduates have later won elected office in Park City or Summit County. Graduates have also gone on to hold influential roles in various circles, including the not-for-profit sector.
Scott van Hartesvelt, the director of the program, described Leadership Park City as being “built into the fabric of the community.”
“It has established broad community-wide support,” he said.
He described Park City as a place where people choose to live rather than somewhere necessitated by an employer or other reason. That, he said, “almost encourages you to lean in.” People in Park City “take responsibility” for the community, he said.
The program involves a calendar of sessions running on Mondays from early October until the following fall. They are typically scheduled from 3 to 9 p.m. The schedule for the upcoming class includes:
- A welcoming reception on Oct. 2.
- An orientation and ropes course during an overnight session on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5.
- A day at the Utah Capitol on Jan. 25.
- A session dedicated to inclusive leadership on April 19.
- A graduation banquet on Sept. 24.
Attendance is required at each session to graduate.
The program also includes the five-day City Tour to other places in the region for fact-finding. It is planned for May 19-23.
A destination for the 2027 City Tour is not set. The locations are usually similarly sized or larger than Park City and are typically grappling with similar issues. The travelers meet with leaders in the other communities and trade stories about policies, programs and challenges. The City Tour this year traveled to the Colorado mountain resorts of Vail and Breckenridge, two of Park City’s tourism competitors.
Topics Leadership Park City usually addresses include the inner workings of the Park City and Summit County governments, the work of not-for-profit organizations and business trends.
Van Hartesvelt, as an example, said one of the sessions during the current class centered on the state Military Installation Development Authority, which is a critical player in Wasatch County growth matters. Presenters are drawn from the ranks of elected officials, business leaders, not-for-profit executives and thinkers.
Van Hartesvelt described the speakers as “key stakeholders.” Each Leadership Park City class also selects a project that usually is based on an overarching community issue, such as the redistricting of political districts and civility.
The program is open to people who live or work in Park City or surrounding Summit County. Each member of the class receives a scholarship covering the costs for the program. The City Tour, though, is not included in the scholarship and is estimated to cost between $1,000 and $1,200. There is financial assistance available for class members who would otherwise be burdened by the cost of the City Tour.
A panel of approximately 40 Leadership Park City alumni scores the applications and then reviews the field before selecting the class.
Applications are available online at: applyforleadership.com. More information about the program is also available online at: parkcity.gov/community/leadership_park_city/index.php#acc_0_panel_7.
An open house is scheduled from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Park City Library community room for people considering submitting a Leadership Park City application.
“The legacy of Leadership Park City should be a source of civic pride,” said van Hartesvelt, an alum of the program. He called Leadership Park City as a “very authentic Park City experience.”