With the hustle and bustle of the Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP) graduation season behind us, I’d like to take some time and dedicate today’s column to all who have graduated from programs under the LSCP umbrella over the past month.

Since its establishment in 1998, the Lake Superior Leadership Academy (LSLA) has had the mission of facilitating the leaders of today helping to build skilled leaders for tomorrow. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the program, it is a project of the LSCP that is designed to educate and motivate emerging and potential leaders from within Marquette County, while helping them build important business networks and leadership skills.

With 400 graduates over the past 19 years, the LSLA continues to make an impact on the development of our local communities. I would like to congratulate this year’s class, committee, day chairs, and hosts on a great year and a job well done.

This year’s LSLA graduates include: Stacy Bolf, UP Health System-Bell; Patrick Callahan, WLUC TV6; Andrew Flannery, VAST; Carly Harrington, Upper Peninsula Health Plan; Victor Harrington, UP Health System; Rachel Harris, Northern Michigan University; Jennifer Heikkila, Eagle Mine; Thyra Karlstrom, Marquette County; Crystal LaFreniere, Upper Peninsula Power Company; Patrick Lakenen, Northern Michigan University; Kennan Marana, Lake Superior Community Partnership; Meghan McLeod, MARESA; Sarah Middlefehldt, Northern Michigan University; Cathy Niemi, Northern Michigan University; Erik Powers, Lake Superior Community Partnership; Sarah Rehborg, Peter White Public Library; Julie Shaw, MARESA; Suzanne Sundell, Charter Township Chocolay; Alison Thomma, PotlatchDeltic; Christie White, VAST; Natasha Wonch, Upper Peninsula Power Company; Matt Wuokko, VAST.

We also saw the Electrical Line Technician (ELT) Program graduate a wonderful group of students this past month. The ELT Program is a joint effort between Northern Michigan University (NMU), the Lake Superior Community Partnership Foundation (LSCPF), and the Midwest Skills Development Center (MSDC) which includes industry partners from across the Upper Peninsula. This 36-week program trains students and provides them with the skills needed to install, maintain, and operate electrical systems for multiple industries. 

The time spent by students in this program also is put towards enhancing their community. The students installed poles, wiring, conductors, anchors, and lighting fixtures to provide lighting at the Noquemanon Forestville Trailhead. This project supplemented work the previous year’s class completed at the trailhead. “Projects like these help students gain an appreciation for the real-world activities that line crews must accomplish on a daily basis, while also providing community services at low or no cost,” commented Lead Instructor, Jerry LePage. Isn’t it great that these students can complete their education and give back to Marquette County at the same time?

We are pleased to see the fifteenth graduating class of the ELT program move forward toward successful careers in their field. Congratulations to those 27 students on their certification.

This year’s ELT program graduates include: Austen Albany, Ryan Bakkila, Tyler Boersma, Devin Bozile, Dylan Brietzke, Jordan Burton, Logan Graff, Justin Jurva, Taylor Kamper, Markus Kinney, Lincoln Klein, Russell Knight, Nathen Kronemeyer, Sidney Marx, Brett Mattson, Jake Mitchell, Anthony Mule, Austin Nordeen, Austin Putman, Cole Quick, E.J. Schultz, Doug Schweihofer, Jay Stevens, Ty Sullivan, Dan Thornton, Trevor Wickstrom, and Peter Woodworth.

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For more information contact the Lake Superior Community Partnership at 906-226-6591.

The Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP) is the region’s leading resource for economic development, providing a wide variety of affordable and effective development services. The LSCP helps our partners make the connections that matter – between businesses, organizations, leaders and legislators, and provides a powerful legislative voice