MADE for Authentic Leaders Complete Wings of Mason
Contact:
Amanda Oltman
513.336.0125
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2018
MADE for Authentic Leaders Complete Wings of Mason
Mason, OH – In the spring of 2016, leaders at Mason City Schools and the Mason Deerfield Chamber uncovered a shared vision in creating an environment to help students uncover their authentic leadership style while providing them the opportunity to make an impact in the community. The two teams came to the conclusion that both efforts would be better together.
“We believe the more we expose the greatness of the Mason-Deerfield region to our talented, emerging workforce, the stronger the bond will be between them and the community,” expressed Sherry Taylor, President & CEO of the Mason Deerfield Chamber. “We believe that bond may help them think of Mason and Deerfield first when it comes to their next chapter.”
Led collaboratively by Debbie Gentene of Mason City Schools and Stephanie Chelf of the Mason Deerfield Chamber, the inaugural cohort, MADE for Authentic Leaders, launched in late 2016. Students went through a competitive application process for acceptance, and the program consisted of three major areas: book study, business leader connections and an impact project. The goal for the program was to empower local talent to uncover their authentic leadership style while truly experiencing Mason-Deerfield and all that it has to offer to create more community attachment through solving local challenges.
The Mason Deerfield Chamber tasked the students with solving a big local challenge, which was to develop a way to increase foot traffic in the downtown Mason corridor, while also beautifying the space. The Wings of Mason interactive mural became a vision for downtown improvements in the summer of 2017 when Sam Cannava, Amanda Harper, Grace Koesters, Kevin Tull and Fiona Xie completed their research in the downtown corridor. Sophia Haller was added to the team in 2018 and served as a valuable addition to the project.
“Early on the group met and determined the beautification of downtown through an interactive mural would be a way to draw people to downtown,” noted Stephanie Chelf, program coordinator with the Mason Deerfield Chamber. “I was so impressed that they chose images of butterflies which connected the mural to the Common Ground Playground, the first all-abilities playground in the state, and a project close to the heart of many in the Mason-Deerfield region.”
The students commissioned the artwork from Mason High School artist, Taylor Kling. Kling volunteered her time and talents to the leadership group by designing, painting and teaching the team as they took her sketch and created a vibrant, beautiful piece of interactive art.
It took the students over 350 hours to create a new destination for the Downtown Mason corridor. Their work was made possible by many community partners including: Sherwin Williams, Sam Muennich and Muennich Car Care LLC, Staley Transformations, Robert Mendelsohn, and Senour-Flaherty Insurance.
“We are so proud of our students; they embody a spirit of excellence anchored in true-north leadership,” said Jonathan Cooper, Superintendent of Mason City Schools. “We are blessed to have engaged business partners willing to invest their time, talent and resources to support the MADE for Authentic Leadership program. We are excited to watch this program continue to inspire local students as they grow into global leaders.”
The butterfly mural is located directly behind the Downtown Mason Plaza between The ROYAL Theatre Company and Keller Williams Realty. It features interactive wings for adults, children and even the family dog. Residents big, small and fluffy are now invited to experience the #WingsOfMason.
ABOUT MADE FOR AUTHENTIC LEADERS: In the spring of 2016, leaders at Mason City Schools and the Mason Deerfield Chamber uncovered a shared vision in creating an environment to help students uncover their authentic leadership style, while providing them the opportunity to make an impact in the community. The spirit of partnerships that exists throughout the communities of Mason and Deerfield Township led the two teams to a conclusion that both efforts would be better together and created the MADE for Authentic Leaders program.
