FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Karl Skala, Council Representative, 3rd Ward - (573) 474-2195, ward3@GoColumbiaMo.com or Crislyn Lumia, National League of Cities - (202) 626-3128, Lumia@nlc.org

Councilman Skala will receive National Cities Leadership Award

COLUMBIA, MO (March 2, 2009) - Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala will be recognized by the National League of Cities (NLC) for reaching the Silver level in its Certificate of Achievement Leadership program. Sponsored by the NLC Leadership Training Institute (LTI), the award will be presented March 15 in Washington, D.C., during the annual Congressional City Conference.

The Silver Certificate level is achieved by local city officials when they earn 36 credits in all five of the core competency areas of municipal leadership. Skala is one of less than 295 NLC members to reach the Silver level in the Certificate of Achievement in Leadership program.

NLC’s Leadership Training Council established the Certificate of Achievement Program in 1999. The primary purpose of the program is to recognize and acknowledge excellence in leadership by NLC members. Each of the training seminars addresses one or more of the core areas of municipal leadership, such as personal leadership growth and development; effective governance; effective communications and media relations; skills in developing and promoting partnerships; and promoting and managing change. These are referred to in the LTI curriculum as “Cornerstone,” “Competent Practitioner,” “Communicator,” “Collaborator” and “Catalyst.”

The National League of Cities is committed to strengthening and promoting the leadership capacity of our nation’s local elected officials. As part of the NLC mission to create stronger communities, the Leadership Training Institute provides local city officials with professional development opportunities to assist them in promoting positive change and innovation within their local communities. At the same time, seminars are designed to explore the nature and practice of local governmental leadership.

The National League of Cities is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages representing more than 218 million Americans.

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