Hartzel graduates from the 2021 Elevate Program

Melanie Hartzel, Pendleton County resident and PC Tourism leader, recently graduated from the 2021 Elevate Program under Leadership Kentucky.
    According to the website, Leadership Kentucky was “created in 1984 as a non-profit educational organization” that “brings together a selected group of people who possess a broad variety of leadership abilities, career accomplishments, and volunteer activities to gain insight into complex issues facing the state.” Its “goal is to prepare...participants to take an active role in advancing the state for the common good.”
    The ultimate goal for the graduates of the three-month program is to bring “a fresh and informed perspective to their communities and companies, serving as important participants in the unified effort to shape Kentucky’s future.”
    Hartzel is excited about the networking relationships and partnerships she has gained that will help her serve the county and her school, Northern Kentucky University, even more effectively than she already is; more, she is hoping to show off what Pendleton County has to offer others around the state.
    “I’ve already started working on some joint programming with a few of the other NKY people for projects at NKY, and I’ve been promoting all the tourism stuff to them,” Hartzel says.
    The “biggest connection” she has made, she says “is with the folks in the group who do workforce development.”
    “My department at NKU, Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement, offers online career training programs. I’ve been able to promote these programs to the folks in Elevate that work in workforce,” she states. “Hopefully, getting their clients connected to our programs so they can find new careers and move up in their current roles.”
    The class not only worked to develop the workforce directly. “Our Elevate class is also going to create a program to encourage diversity in all Leadership Kentucky programming,” Hartzel explains. “We want to create a marketing plan that would get the word out to those in the state from minority groups so that they know what’s available to them for leadership and professional development.”
    Of course, her heart and her brain were also on the needs of the county as she networked with others in the program. “There is a person in the group...who is working with the Southbanks project along the river in Newport, Ludlow, Bellevue, etc., and he and I plan to chat this summer. I want to pick his brain about pocket parks and developing community spaces along in small towns.”
    Community atmosphere is one thing that Hartzel strives to improve in the county, but she also has a heart for the economic development of the area. She sees how atmosphere and economic opportunity work together to make small towns thrive, especially after her participation in the program.
    “During our trip to Owensboro, we visted the Bluegrass Music Museum and we talked a lot about what makes a small city come to life. Many aspects that hinder communities from growing are happening in Falmouth and Butler.
    “I haven’t fully formed plans to use with tourism, but it was eye-opening to see research on trends that help and/or hinder the growth of small towns.
    “It got my wheels turning.”
    Those “wheels” included the fact she saw general public use spaces for events and festivals, meeting rooms and buildings that could be rented.
    “Owensboro really confirmed to me that those spaces help make a community thrive. If folks stay in the county to have their baby showers and bridal showers and birthday parties, it helps the local economy.”
    But at the outset, the experience is about learning. “It’s mostly been a lot of data collection and seeing what other locations are doing and learning some history of Kentucky. The real partnerships and projects will come later this year after we all figure out how to incorporate all we have learned from each other.”