History of Leadership Palm Beach County

1983-Present

 

      

 

 

Organizational Structure

Leadership Palm Beach County (LPBC) was initiated as a local affiliate of the nationwide program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It was established in 1983 from a joint task force of the following area Chambers of Commerce: Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, North Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. 

The local chambers and a group of business people formed an Advisory Board for LPBC, and Barry Berg served as the first Chairman of the Leadership Palm Beach County, Inc. Board of Directors from 1984 to 1987. Board members were allowed to be participants or alumni of the Leadership Palm Beach County program, but it was not required.

The 1984-1985 inaugural Leadership Palm Beach County class was composed of 39 community leaders. The Program Chair was Bob Miller from the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, who held this position for the first three Leadership Classes. From 1985 to 1986, Stormet Norem served as the first President of the LPBC Alumni Association Board. All members of this board were graduates of the Leadership Palm Beach County program.

The LPBC Board of Directors and the LPBC Alumni Association Board co-existed until July 1, 1992. At this time, there was a merger of the two boards to form the Leadership Palm Beach County Board of Governors, which is the organizational structure today. Only LPBC alumni may sit on the Board of Governors. 

 

Accomplishments

Through the years, Leadership Palm Beach County has been committed to programs that initiate the collective discussion and resolution of community issues and concerns.

To that end, Leadership PBC co-hosted Florida State Legislative Day in March 1989, and has hosted a large number of candidate forums, debates, and open forums on issues. In response to the need for voter education and information, Leadership Palm Beach County collaborated with 10 other prominent State and County organizations to host the "Dare to be Aware" Candidates Forums in August (County School Board candidates) and October (national, state and county candidates) of 2002.

Leadership Palm Beach County has developed numerous programs, activities, and initiatives. The organization implemented a Leadership Placement Program (pilot program with Volunteer Center) in November 1989.

After sponsoring a collaborative Health & Human Services Forum, Leadership Palm Beach County was the lead organization in creating the Palm Beach County Health & Human Services Planning Association in June 1990.

The first FOCUS Palm Beach County took place the following year in November 1991. This program is sponsored by LPBC for the purpose of providing a community orientation for key executives by broadening their working knowledge of the county in a short length of time.

YOUTH Leadership Palm Beach County, a seven-month version of the Adult Program, began its first class in October 1992. Bringing the Leadership concept to a high school level, the program provides an opportunity for a diverse group of high school juniors to learn about the dynamics and workings of our community and to develop an understanding of their responsibilities as future community leaders. LPBC has graduated over 700 high school juniors in nearly 20 session years. Overall, it has awarded more than $40,000 in scholarships to deserving graduates.                                

In 1995, Board Connection, one of six pilot programs nationally, was put in place to identify, train, and place diverse candidates on non-profit boards. On April 1, 2000, this project of Leadership PBC formally merged with The Center for Non-profit Know-how to create a new organization known as The Non-profit Resource Institute (NRI).

Leadership Palm Beach County has graduated over 1,000 leaders in its 26 years of Adult Programs. LPBC is now registered with the IRS as a private non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with an educational objective. It is also registered with the Florida Division of Consumer Services to solicit funds for its fundraising to benefit its programs and community projects. Registration #CH-14757.