Leadership Fort Dodge, a program of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, marked 20 years since it was established.

In that time, 850 people have graduated from a program that some describe as a “backstage pass” to everything that is going on in Fort Dodge.

A companion program for teenagers, Junior Leadership Fort Dodge, marked four years in existence. In those four years, 80 teens have graduated from it.

“I think the two programs really share the importance of making connections in your community and learning about the progress that is happening so that you can share that with others,” said Jill Nelson, who guided both programs during her years as a leader of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance.

The program for adults was started in 2005 by the Fort Dodge Area Chamber of Commerce, a predecessor to today’s Growth Alliance.

Bob Singer was the executive director of the chamber when the program started.

“We took a look at 17 of the largest communities in the state and we found that most of them, not all of them, but most of them, had a leadership program,” he said.

He said he was thinking about how to establish a local leadership program when Mary Koeninger, the wife of former library director Larry Koeninger, offered to do some volunteer work for the chamber. Singer said when he met with her, he mentioned that he was thinking about starting a leadership program. She indicated she had some experience with something similar and offered to help. Shortly after that meeting, she came back to Singer’s office with a rough draft of a leadership program. That rough draft became today’s Leadership Fort Dodge.

“The program, with some minor adjustments along the way, is primarily the same program that we implemented,” Singer said.

Leadership Fort Dodge begins in October and continues through May of the following year. There is one meeting each month, and each meeting is devoted to a single topic.

Topics covered in those sessions include education, arts, recreation, business and industry, local government, health care, state government, public safety and agriculture.

Members of the class hear from community leaders and tour places they may not otherwise have an opportunity to see.

Singer is still involved in the program, giving a presentation on local history.

A group of graduates of the program helps to fine-tune it every year.

The Junior Leadership Fort Dodge program has six sessions and focuses on the teens’ perception of their community.

Participants in that program also hear from local leaders, but there are also hands-on activities that showcase the best and most exciting things in Fort Dodge.

Juniors at Fort Dodge Senior High School and St. Edmond Catholic School are eligible for the program.