Launch to Leadership
By Mark McAlpine, Contributing Writer
A group of local Elk Rapids business and education professionals launched a new nonprofit on September 24 dedicated to creating a pathway for local students with the talents and desire to develop their leadership skills. The idea for “Launch to Leadership of Northern Michigan” started when two long-time friends, retired business executives, and local Rotary members began a conversation on what makes great leaders. That conversation developed into the basis for a new informal program in the Elk Rapids School District and now a 502c3 nonprofit corporation.
Those two friends, Bill Donberg and Norm Veliquette, are well known around Elk Rapids for their own leadership abilities. Donberg, a retired Dow Chemical Business vice president, who managed their plastics, adhesive & coating business, is currently a board member for Pure Water for the World, a Traverse City-based nonprofit, and the Northwestern Michigan College Foundation. After retirement from Dow, Donberg continued a passion for flying as a flight instructor for Northwestern Michigan College Aviation Division and President of Aetos Group, Inc., a provider of unmanned aerial and ground robotic inspections. In March 2024, Donberg was bestowed the NMC Fellow Award from Northwestern Michigan College. The Fellow is the highest honor bestowed annually on individuals who have provided outstanding financial and time contributions to NMC.
Veliquette has his own long list of leadership accomplishments. In 2019, he was inducted into the Michigan Farmer’s Hall of Fame. The honor highlighted his 47 plus years in farming and his significant impact on Michigan’s cherry industry. Veliquette and his family currently oversee operations that are estimated to be the largest vertically integrated tart cherry operation in the United States. Those operations include over 2,500 acres under Cherry Ke Inc., processing company Shoreline Fruit Growers and Great Lakes Packing Company. He has served the Antrim County and Elk Rapids communities for many years as member of the Naval Reserve, Michigan Farm Bureau, school board, Rotary, Sacred Heart Church, and Meadow Brook Foundation.
Launch to Leadership was quietly opened as an informal Elk Rapids Schools program during the covid years. Paul Wonacott, currently employed as a paraprofessional in Elk Rapids Schools, was recently chosen to lead the nonprofit organization as executive director and facilitator. Wonacott has been instrumental in the early development of the program structure. Twelve students, two from 7th grade through 12th grade, are recommended by teachers and principals for the opportunity to hear leadership lessons from guest participants over a six-week period. Students are provided two hours of class time each week to participate in the off-campus sessions. The guests, which have included local business owners and government officials, provide their own leadership stories. Students collectively have an opportunity to break down those stories into leadership lessons. The program is repeated twice each school year with a total of 24 students having the opportunity to participate each year. Over the past three years, 60 students have experienced the leadership lessons.
The collective age program structure follows a path experienced by Veliquette in his early years as part of the local 4H Club and later as Chair of the Rotary Youth Leadership Conference. Veliquette fondly recalls being able to learn important lessons from the older 4H Club members. It was during his 17-year experience observing at the Youth Leadership Conference that he came to his own understanding of the meaning of leadership. “Leadership is influence,” Veliquette said. “Leadership is trust. Leadership is based on what a person is and what they do is based on what they are.” That belief provided the cornerstone for the Launch to Leadership program. “What leaders are is a short list, memorable by the vowels of the alphabet,” Veliquette explained. “Active, empathetic, informed, open, unshakable, and yes.” He notes that saying yes to challenges may be the most important lesson learned by those developing leadership skills.
Wonacott has been surprised how relatable the guest participants have been to the students. “These are extraordinary people talking about everyday things,” Wonacott said. “The stories they tell are ordinary stories that the students can relate to. It is interesting to see when the students start pulling the curtain back, they know they are seeing important leadership qualities, but they understand that they are attainable.” At the end of the program, Wonacott provides the students with an opportunity to reflect on the leadership stories and how it relates to their own experiences, personality and future development.
Bryan McKenna, Elk Rapids School superintendent, confirmed that the school district does not have a formal connection to the group and does not provide financial support for Launch to Leadership. He views the program as one of several organizations providing leadership lessons. He notes the National Honor Society (NHS), Student Council, and the Rotary-sponsored Interact are examples of student opportunities to develop leadership skills. “We value all of these programs,” McKenna said. “We are fostering leaders who we can identify in our school system.”
According to Wonacott, the establishment of the 501c3 nonprofit will allow the group to qualify for grants and other contributions that will provide growth opportunities in the future. He will be supported by a board of directors that includes Norm Veliquette, president; Bill Donberg, vice president; Julie Brown, treasurer; Jack Young, Elk Rapids High School principal; Josh Haggerty, CMS principal; and Kristy McDonald, NMC advisor.
A group of local Elk Rapids business and education professionals launched a new nonprofit on September 24 dedicated to creating a pathway for local students with the talents and desire to develop their leadership skills. The idea for “Launch to Leadership of Northern Michigan” started when two long-time friends, retired business executives, and local Rotary members began a conversation on what makes great leaders. That conversation developed into the basis for a new informal program in the Elk Rapids School District and now a 502c3 nonprofit corporation.
Those two friends, Bill Donberg and Norm Veliquette, are well known around Elk Rapids for their own leadership abilities. Donberg, a retired Dow Chemical Business vice president, who managed their plastics, adhesive & coating business, is currently a board member for Pure Water for the World, a Traverse City-based nonprofit, and the Northwestern Michigan College Foundation. After retirement from Dow, Donberg continued a passion for flying as a flight instructor for Northwestern Michigan College Aviation Division and President of Aetos Group, Inc., a provider of unmanned aerial and ground robotic inspections. In March 2024, Donberg was bestowed the NMC Fellow Award from Northwestern Michigan College. The Fellow is the highest honor bestowed annually on individuals who have provided outstanding financial and time contributions to NMC.
Veliquette has his own long list of leadership accomplishments. In 2019, he was inducted into the Michigan Farmer’s Hall of Fame. The honor highlighted his 47 plus years in farming and his significant impact on Michigan’s cherry industry. Veliquette and his family currently oversee operations that are estimated to be the largest vertically integrated tart cherry operation in the United States. Those operations include over 2,500 acres under Cherry Ke Inc., processing company Shoreline Fruit Growers and Great Lakes Packing Company. He has served the Antrim County and Elk Rapids communities for many years as member of the Naval Reserve, Michigan Farm Bureau, school board, Rotary, Sacred Heart Church, and Meadow Brook Foundation.
Launch to Leadership was quietly opened as an informal Elk Rapids Schools program during the covid years. Paul Wonacott, currently employed as a paraprofessional in Elk Rapids Schools, was recently chosen to lead the nonprofit organization as executive director and facilitator. Wonacott has been instrumental in the early development of the program structure. Twelve students, two from 7th grade through 12th grade, are recommended by teachers and principals for the opportunity to hear leadership lessons from guest participants over a six-week period. Students are provided two hours of class time each week to participate in the off-campus sessions. The guests, which have included local business owners and government officials, provide their own leadership stories. Students collectively have an opportunity to break down those stories into leadership lessons. The program is repeated twice each school year with a total of 24 students having the opportunity to participate each year. Over the past three years, 60 students have experienced the leadership lessons.
The collective age program structure follows a path experienced by Veliquette in his early years as part of the local 4H Club and later as Chair of the Rotary Youth Leadership Conference. Veliquette fondly recalls being able to learn important lessons from the older 4H Club members. It was during his 17-year experience observing at the Youth Leadership Conference that he came to his own understanding of the meaning of leadership. “Leadership is influence,” Veliquette said. “Leadership is trust. Leadership is based on what a person is and what they do is based on what they are.” That belief provided the cornerstone for the Launch to Leadership program. “What leaders are is a short list, memorable by the vowels of the alphabet,” Veliquette explained. “Active, empathetic, informed, open, unshakable, and yes.” He notes that saying yes to challenges may be the most important lesson learned by those developing leadership skills.
Wonacott has been surprised how relatable the guest participants have been to the students. “These are extraordinary people talking about everyday things,” Wonacott said. “The stories they tell are ordinary stories that the students can relate to. It is interesting to see when the students start pulling the curtain back, they know they are seeing important leadership qualities, but they understand that they are attainable.” At the end of the program, Wonacott provides the students with an opportunity to reflect on the leadership stories and how it relates to their own experiences, personality and future development.
Bryan McKenna, Elk Rapids School superintendent, confirmed that the school district does not have a formal connection to the group and does not provide financial support for Launch to Leadership. He views the program as one of several organizations providing leadership lessons. He notes the National Honor Society (NHS), Student Council, and the Rotary-sponsored Interact are examples of student opportunities to develop leadership skills. “We value all of these programs,” McKenna said. “We are fostering leaders who we can identify in our school system.”
According to Wonacott, the establishment of the 501c3 nonprofit will allow the group to qualify for grants and other contributions that will provide growth opportunities in the future. He will be supported by a board of directors that includes Norm Veliquette, president; Bill Donberg, vice president; Julie Brown, treasurer; Jack Young, Elk Rapids High School principal; Josh Haggerty, CMS principal; and Kristy McDonald, NMC advisor.
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