After a year’s hiatus, Leadership Vicksburg is back.

Leadership Vicksburg, sponsored by the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commere, is a yearlong program aimed at nurturing and educating those in key positions within businesses, industry, education and government here.

Jane Flowers, executive director of the chamber, said she is happy the program has returned in a new and improved way.

“We were approached by Gerad Hardy, vice president and general manager at Ameristar Casino. He was getting ready to participate in Leadership Mississippi, and he was interested in helping us with Leadership Vicksburg,” Flowers said.

A group of former Leadership Vicksburg graduates and others in the business community already were meeting in an effort to revamp the program, she said.

“Ameristar in Vicksburg has always had a great commitment, not only to the city, but to Leadership Vicksburg. We’ve sent several of our people through the program. We had two in the last graduating class, and were prepared to submit two to last year’s class, but it was cancelled due to lack of participation,” Hardy said. “When I got the message that it was cancelled, I thought, ‘What a missed opportunity,’ Leadership development is so important for the health of the community — the business community and the community at large. It’s something we want to continue to be committed to.”

Hardy and Lori Burke, Ameristar’s business development manager and a Leadership Vicksburg alum, began brainstorming, he said.

“She started drawing from her experience and I started drawing from mine and my experience as a Leadership Mississippi attendee and we asked ourselves, how can we create a program that businesses and organizations find real added value in, one that when they look at it they think, ‘Man, how can we not be a part of that?’ ”

When Hardy and Burke met with the chamber’s leadership and with Leadership Vicksburg alum, their aim was to put together a program that accomplishes three things, he said:

“Number one, how do we personally get better? How do I become a better leader? How do it grow the tools I need for leadership?” Hardy said. “Number two, if I have all the tools for leadership, where can I make a difference. Where is there a need? And, the last part, let’s focus on making a difference.

The new Leadership Vicksburg program is “something that not only existing businesses will appreciate, but past alumni will be excited about and want to go through again,” he said.

Another recommendation that came from the committee was a lowered price for the program.

“We lowered the price to $450 in an effort to get more to participate. It was $750. And others sponsor some of the leaders who come through the program. We continue to need that, too, to make it effective,” Flowers said.

The revamped Leadership Vicksburg program will focus in part on teaching participants leadership skills similar to those taught in the Leader in Me program in the Vicksburg Warren School District.

“The Leader in Me program is based on Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Tammy Burris, who was principal at Bowmar, which was named the first Lighthouse School through the Leader in Me program, is now principal at the River City Early College High School. She came in and helped us with what we need to cover in the leadership part of the program,” Flowers said.

Burris, who is a Leadership Vicksburg alum, said the business community generously partnered with schools here to make the Leader in Me program possible.

“These businesses have helped make it possible for us to receive the training in the past. We’re glad to get to help businesses,” in the form of training Vicksburg leader, Burris said.

She said Leadership Vicksburg is a great way for upcoming leaders who want to contribute to their community to learn more about it.

“When I went through Leadership Vicksburg, I had lived here all of my life, but I saw so many things and learned so much I was not even aware of,” she said.

Leadership Vicksburg will begin with a retreat on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9 and 10.

The retreat begins with a dinner and an overnight stay for participants at the Ameristar Casino Hotel.

On Saturday morning, the group will travel to Warner Tully YMCA camp in Port Gibson for team-building exercises.

Then, Leadership Vicksburg participants will spend the second Wednesday of each month focusing on some sector of the Vicksburg-Warren County community.

“Then, there will be a project at the end of this, where the whole group comes together to do something for the community,” Flowers said. “Many people don’t realize the networking and relationships they will build through this program.”

Applications are available online at the Chamber’s website in the programs area of the site. Deadline for submitted applications is Friday, Aug. 19.

“Anyone with the potential for leadership would benefit from Leadership Vicksburg. Someone who has initiative, someone who is loyal, someone who is vested in this community and who wants to make a difference in what they do would be the perfect candidate for Leadership Vicksburg,” Flowers said.