'Come Home to Oswego,' LOC graduation to benefit from Shineman grant

Leadership Oswego County (LOC), an annual leadership development program administered by SUNY Oswego's Office of Business and Community Relations, was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Richard S. Shineman Foundation to expand and enhance programming for the 2017-18 program.

Funding from the foundation, which aims to be a catalyst for change in Oswego County, will support costs associated with a keynote speaker for the Silver Leadership Graduation -- the Class of 2018 is LOC's 25th. Plans for graduation are underway. Additionally, the funding will support an upcoming LOC alumni event slated for Nov. 21, 2017, "Come Home to Oswego."

"Our Leadership alumni are a valuable resource to our community, and we would like to provide more opportunities for engagement," said Chena Tucker, director of the Office of Business and Community Relations. "'Come Home to Oswego' is done in partnership with the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce and a handful of local businesses to take place during Thanksgiving time, when young professionals typically come back home to visit relatives and friends for the holidays.

"Our goal for this event is to create a casual, social gathering and to support, promote and create a vibrant downtown. The event invites alumni of the Leadership Oswego County program and community members to come together and celebrate the great things happening within our community. We hope this event will entice young professionals to come back home or stay in the area in an effort to turn around the population decline we have seen over the last decades."

For a quarter century, LOC's program has prepared select groups of county residents to become the community stewards of the future. The group embarks on a nine-month course on Oswego County and its resources, vital issues of today, and visioning for tomorrow.

For more information on the Leadership Oswego County program, visit www.oswego.edu/loc.