Leadership Programs
Our Leadership Training programs develop community-focused leaders through personal growth, skill building, and strong connections.
Leadership Programs
CiViC Community Leadership Project
The CiViC Project is specifically designed to train rural community leaders so they can make a
difference at the grassroots level, where real change occurs. Having a critical mass of engaged leaders means that we think big in Sheridan County, focusing on action and an enthusiastic, can-do attitude.
Begun in 2006, the CiViC Project accepts twelve men and twelve women from diverse viewpoints, backgrounds, ages, and skills to create a cohort. They spend five days together at a guest ranch near the Bighorn Mountains, away from their jobs and families. This distance allows them to be completely immersed in learning the skills needed to make meaningful changes as a community-centered leader.
Participants build connections, create deep friendships, and learn applicable skills to become involved and effective where they live. Plus, upon graduation, they join 168 other alums who share their experience and a common language, increasing everyone’s reach and impact.
There is no cost to attend CiViC, encouraging a variety of people to apply over the years.
The next CiViC Project will be held in the fall of 2027. Applications will open in January 2027.
CiViC grads have described their experience as:
“Life Changing
“The most impactful leadership and personal development training I’ve ever participated in.
“An opportunity of a lifetime
Row 2 – Cissy Dillon, Jenifer Shassetz, Kevin Jones, Laura Sands, Bob Rolston, Mike Nickel, Kyle Williams, Shelley Kinnison, Jenny Craft (CVC Director)
Row 3 – Bill Mease (trainer), Dave Kinskey, Scott Chandler, Everett McGlothlin, Sue Belish, Bill Huppert, Ray Pacheco, Julie Davidson, Jay Stender, Carolyn Benepe
Row 2 – Bill Mease (trainer), Rod Leisinger, Jeff Holsinger, David Carter, Edre Maier, Rich Destefano, Sonja Merrild, Jeriann Jacobson, Allison Gee
Row 3 – Robert Briggs, Mitch Craft, Rob Miller, Tyler Neeriemer, Renee Obermueller, Susan Brayton, Mark Englert, Nancy Hooge
Row 2 – TJ Tavegie, Julie Steiff (trainer), Jessica Lindsley, Wendy Smith, Kati Sherwood, Chris Jones, Bob Leibrich
Row 3 – Amy Albrecht, Mylene Wallander, Bill Mease (trainer), Anne Nickerson, Leon Schatz, Tom Ringley
Row 4 – Brent Caldwell, Denise Ebzery, Nic Bateson, Arik Jacobson, Matt Ebzery, Mark Reid
Row 5 – Brock Boedecker, Kurt Layher
Row 2 – Ken Thorpe, Jerry Rasmussen, Lane Thompson, Barbara Walter, Cody Sinclair, Cameron Duff, Curtiss Johnson, Richard Hammer
Row 3 – Amy Rabon, Rindy West, Misty Taylor, Audrey Steinhorst, Jeff Wells, Levi Dominguez, Adam Bunker, Brianna Straub, Kay Wallick, Shawn Buckley
Row 2 – Rich Adriaens, Stacia Skretteberg, Julie Steiff (trainer), Mathers Heuck, Andrew Gast, John Dick, Linda Lawrence, Jennifer Fenton, Emily Betzler, Bill Mease (trainer)
Row 3 – Ryan Koltiska, Bill Rapp, Sandy Baird, Cal Furnish, Shawn Parker, Josh Law, Cody Haar
Row 2 – Pete Kilbride, Colin Betzler, Jon Oman, Scott Lee, Sarah Jo Sinclair, Gail Simmons, Dan Alsup
Row 3 – Shane Rader, Keri McMeans, Oaklee Gilliland, Kris Korfanta, Polly Saywell
Row 4 – Travis Evans, Steve Maier, Jim Barth, Jack Fritz
Row 2 – Bill Mease (trainer), Kristin Campbell, Rosemary Rieder, Chad Reed, Rich Bridger, Debra Haar, Teresa Detimore, Desiree Pearce, Janie Magelky, Amy Albrecht (CVC Director)
Row 3 – Dylan Crouse, David Peterson, Travis Koltiska, Lorne Morris, Michele Fritz, Renzy Reno, Thomas Morneau, Zane Garstad, Eric Maichak, Brad Bauer
A fun-filled week in the mountains June 23-27, 2025
It’s hard to be a teenager these days. It’s even harder to be a leader among your fellow teens. That’s why we created CampFIRE. Our mission is to enable graduating 8th graders from Sheridan and Johnson counties to identify and practice their leadership skills while learning how they work with others.
We bring up dynamic speakers who cover essential themes the campers are going to encounter in high school (if they haven’t already), including false assumptions, identity, conflict resolution, influence, considering multiple perspectives, recognizing and handling polarizing situations, determining their leadership type, and the value of servant leadership.
They’re interactive, fun, and interspersed with all the outdoor fun, so no one feels like they went back to school too early. Add in good food and a lot of it, and it’s a recipe for making lasting memories and embracing unexpected leadership qualities.
No one wants to go home after five days of making new friends, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, biking, rock wall climbing, archery, gaga ball, night games, and roasted marshmallows over the campfire. Go home, they must, though – they have to use all their new skills!
CampFIRE is free for all, thanks to generous local donors; all potential campers must do is write 250 words about why they want to attend.
Here’s a look at some of the fun
Check out the video from our campers!
A hint of the fun:
- Group leadership challenges
- Mountain biking
- Communication skills building
- Fishing
- Personality assessments
- Canoeing and kayaking
- Nighttime games
- Campfire stories
- Service learning
- Hiking
- Excellent food and lots of it
We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Leadership 2.0
Sheridan County residents have three very different yet excellent opportunities to increase their leadership skills and connect to like-minded folks.
Leadership Sheridan County is run by the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce and was designed to inspire citizens to assume leadership roles in their communities. Leadership Wyoming, a statewide program, inspires Wyoming’s leaders through exploration and connection. The CiViC Leadership Program focuses on rural community leadership to identify and mobilize around important issues.
Over 600 people have graduated from one, two, or all three of these programs in our county. Why not bring them together for networking and connection? That was why we created Leadership 2.0.
A collaboration with the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce, Leadership 2.0 is only scheduled when we find a fantastic, inspirational speaker who is worthy of all these leaders’ time. Since its inspiration in 2012, speakers have included local and statewide luminaries Pete Simpson, Sam Western, Kindness Wyoming, Michael Perlman, Ann Simpson, and John Sargent.