To keep a healthy community, some believe that leaders need to take a step outside of their box to get a fresh view; they need to find out the interests of other leaders in the community; they need to develop an understanding for what their community really has, who it is made up of, and what makes it tick.

These are the ideas behind the Blandin Community Leadership Program (BCLP), which is playing host to 24 Albert Lea residents, starting this Sunday, for a week-long seminar on leadership.

&uot;It’s just a fantastic experience,&uot; Albert Lea mayor Jean Eaton said. Eaton went on the last BLCP seminar for Albert Lea residents. &uot;We should be really very thankful that we were were selected again.&uot;

The Blandin Foundation was started, according to their Web site, in 1941, when Charles Blandin, a &uot;newspaper man,&uot; decided to start a foundation to support rural Minnesota communities.

The foundation has been strengthening rural communities since then through grants, scholarships and leadership programs, as well as other means.

The Grand Rapids-based foundation has worked with 3,800 leaders in 244 rural Minnesota communities.

Eaton said the participants are chosen by the community. They try to represent every facet of the community including race, economic class, existing leaders, future leaders, business people, health care people, educators, and people from different sectors of the local economy.

The 24 people participating in this year’s retreat will go to Grand Rapids for six days.

Ellen Kehr, co-owner of All Continents Travel Inc., will be attending this year’s retreat. She said the six days will be demanding.

&uot;You work and learn from eight in the morning until after you finish dinner each night,&uot; Kehr said. &uot;It sounds like it will be intense. But it also means you really get to know the other people on the retreat. I think that’s why it does work, (because) it’s so interactive.&uot;

Kehr said she has heard a great deal about the program since she moved to Albert Lea six years ago. She’d been interested ever since.

&uot;I chose to apply because I enjoy being involved in the community,&uot; she said. &uot;I would like my time to be utilized in the best way, not just for the community but

also for myself too.&uot;

Eaton thinks this is an important aspect of the experience. She said that learning how to make the best use of your time, and how to balance your community involvement so you don’t spread yourself too thin.

Eaton also said learning that each issue in the community is interconnected made a big difference for her.

&uot;You come to see that each group is more connected than they think,&uot; she said. &uot;Whether you are into arts, education or the environment you find that you can’t just focus on one to make (the community) good. That’s why they select such a wide group.&uot;

According to the Blandin Web site, &uot;the training is offered in environments that promote cooperation, team-building and networking.&uot;

Kehr said she looks forward to working with the diverse group. &uot;When you get them all together, you can get some good ideas,&uot; she said. &uot;We all tend to get so focused. In a group like this you get ideas for a fresh way of looking at these things.&uot;

After the six-day event, there are two workshops for the group. In all of these sessions BCLP focuses in on how different kinds of leaders can be effective, from energetic extroverts, to deep-thinking introverts. Eaton says this allows people to more easily work with each other, through knowing strengths, weaknesses and styles.

Kehr said she hopes to be able to come back with the group and bring a change to the community.

&uot;It was obvious from this last election that we’re looking for change, and looking to move forward,&uot; she said. &uot;We want to be a vibrant community. So I think any guidance we can get will be great.&uot;

Eaton agrees glowingly, saying it will change the way the group views leadership.

&uot;I’m really a seminar junkie, and that was one of the best seminars I’ve been to,&uot; she said. &uot;I hope this team can come back, have a project in mind and become stronger leaders.&uot;