OUR HISTORY
A Rich Tradition of Cultivating Community Leadership
"Our strongest leaders who emerged during the 1940s are in the twilight of their careers. A new generation of leaders has not yet established itself. We are approaching rapidly a leadership vacuum."
Richard Mallery, 1978
A Valley Leadership founder
In the late 1970's, a prominent group of community members foresaw the Valley’s rapid growth and realized it would need a new generation of trustees who were empowered with the leadership skills necessary to guide its continued prosperity. These visionary individuals knew that to be successful, they had to tap leaders from a broad range of companies and organizations, providing the highest quality of education to ensure their vision of a creating an ongoing legacy of committed, well-informed leaders.
On November 3, 1978 Valley Leadership was formed. Over thirty years later, our alumni are virtually everywhere. You will see them all around you. They work in the trenches and at boardroom tables. They are the ones who run for office, create legislation, teach in our schools, report the news in our communities, promote the arts and fight for justice. Our alumni have gone on to initiate the nationally adopted Kids Voting program and were instrumental in the passage of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, to name just a couple of accomplishments.
In 1996, Valley Leadership started the Valley Teen Leadership program, promoting the belief that it’s never too early to embrace community leadership. In 1997, Valley Leadership took over the "Man & Woman of the Year Awards," which honor Valley residents who demonstrated exemplary public service and have made a significant contribution to the community.
Valley Leadership is proud of our rich history in cultivating generations of leaders in our community. We continue to build a network of strong, knowledgeable service-oriented individuals who forge connections and make ripples wherever they live.
Founders: Junius Bowman, Bill Franke, Gary Driggs, Bill Jamieson, Richard Mallery, Jamie Mantanovich, Dennis Mitchem, Culver Nelson, Bill Shover, Jim Simmons, Marty Squires, Keith Turley (deceased).