Hardin Leadership Inc.

Hardin Leadership Inc. We are committed to developing positive leaders through providing personal enrichment, expanding community networks, & recognizing future leaders.

2026 Hardin Leadership Participants. Be on the look out for your emailed code. We are excited to welcome James Frame M....
04/30/2026

2026 Hardin Leadership Participants. Be on the look out for your emailed code.

We are excited to welcome James Frame M.A.H.R., M.A. to Hardin Leadership 2026 as our May 14 facilitator. He is an esteemed Army veteran whose leadership journey began at the Army Officer Candidate School. He has continually honed his skills through diverse experiences in military operations, Fortune 100 companies, and higher education, ultimately earning three master's degrees. His career also spans consulting, serving as an adjunct professor, life coach, and certified Gallup StrengthsFinder coach. James is also an aspiring writer. With extensive experience in the military, oil and gas, construction, and nearly a decade in healthcare, James has successfully navigated personal adversities, including confronting death, cancer, and various family health crises.

He is a recognized speaker, trainer, facilitator, and strengths-based leadership coach, celebrated for his exceptional and innovative contributions to leadership, learning, and life skills for individuals and teams. James recently relocated to Delaware, OH in 2024 to be closer to family. We are so fortunate that he would come to us for our May session.

A special shout out to Robinson Fin Machine who will host our next session on May 14th. They will also be doing a tour f...
04/23/2026

A special shout out to Robinson Fin Machine who will host our next session on May 14th. They will also be doing a tour for us following our session facilitator on Gallup Strengths, James Frame.

Congratulations to Hardin Leadership Inc for receiving the ‘Nonprofit of the Year’ award from the Hardin County Chamber ...
04/17/2026

Congratulations to Hardin Leadership Inc for receiving the ‘Nonprofit of the Year’ award from the Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance. So honored to be recognized in this way.

Our April session was held at Ridgeway Farms Ohio (near the junction of SR 292 and SR 273, north of Ridgeway). This ve...
04/16/2026

Our April session was held at Ridgeway Farms Ohio (near the junction of SR 292 and SR 273, north of Ridgeway). This venue allowed us to take in both the outside and inside beautiful. We heard a welcome from owner Bethany Horn as our Community Igniter and from Mackenzie Wallace as our Alumni Igniter. Both had an impressive leadership resume.
The class members completed their personal speeches which gave us insights into their passions and goals.
Following their speeches, Matt Dudek, teacher with Kenton Schools taught on "Lead Yourself" using these five points--
1. Guiding Light
2. Vision Defining Values
3. Turning Words on a Wall Into Impactful Action
4. Build, but Build Wisely
5. From Pirate to Navy
He involved them in engaging activities and gave them many questions to ponder, beyond this class time.
Thanks to Ridgeway Farms Ohio, Matt, and session leaders Frank Dudek and Steven Stalder.

Year in Review2025 was a different kind of year for Hardin Leadership Steering Committee. We didn’t produce class gradu...
04/14/2026

Year in Review
2025 was a different kind of year for Hardin Leadership Steering Committee. We didn’t produce class graduates but will be yielding dividends well into the future. After reviewing evaluations from the 2024 class members, Dennis Burns moved to strike offering a program so we would have time to do a year’s review of what we had accomplished and what we needed to do to meet the needs of future funders and participants. We surveyed over 500 youth and adults from all walks of life (business, schools, community leaders, teens, past HL grads and those who had never heard of Hardin Leadership. Survey data were tabulated and studied by the Steering Committee and the results were incorporated into our 2026 program offering, Thanks to Bill Grunkemeyer (a session presenter for 30 years) for facilitating this arduous process.

Results Incorporated into 2026 programming.
New Branding and Promotional items—Thanks Jenny Hildreth for your designs
Mentoring component—Thanks Stephanie for linking participants to a helper who will listen to how their new learning is relevant and part of their leadership journey.
“WE ARE COMING to a neighborhood near you”. Each session will be held in a different area of the county, utilizing a variety of settings that represent Hardin County’s diversity. Tours and visits with Community Ignitors are the methods being used to broaden the outreach.

We currently have 19 participants in Hardin Leadership 2026. We have not experienced a more eager class to team and learn together. They are bright, enthusiastic, and young! What will be the results from this year and beyond? We really won’t know for years.

Hardin Leadership Community Projects2022Wear the shirt—Do the Work. Using the theme “Hearts for Hope: Hands to Help”, t...
04/13/2026

Hardin Leadership Community Projects
2022
Wear the shirt—Do the Work. Using the theme “Hearts for Hope: Hands to Help”, the 2022 class members worked together to find out how they could make a difference for organizations countywide. Five requested some “sweat” projects, including painting, refinishing furniture, and roofing, which teams of class members willingly completed. They also generated $6,354.00 which they shared with five other Hardin County Non-Profit organizations.

2023
Student Leadership-United is the program facilitated by 2023 graduates Brett Purcell, Grant Reppart, and Adam Moore from the 2023 Hardin Leadership in partnership with the United Way of Hardin County director and HL graduate Martha Nau. Another group committed to cleaning up Gene Autry Park. Other ideas are still in development phases.

2024
This class targeted the needs of audiences throughout the county. For children, they collected donations for Heartbeat and participated in community trick or treat celebrations. For Veteran’s, the helped put flags on veteran’s graves and helped serve a fish fry for Vets. For aging persons, the did special BINGO programs with the Hardin County Council on Aging. Digging deeper, they realized that a person needed a new microwave to replace her only heating appliance. They pulled their finances and purchased one for her.
Class member Penny Keller-Clark is a true planner and published calendars from June-November highlighting community volunteering opportunities in all Hardin County communities. She also developed a leadership development program for disabled adults who had not had any opportunities to practice their leadership.

2020-2021COVID put a wrinkle in our 9 month program, extending it to two years long because we discovered we "could not ...
04/13/2026

2020-2021
COVID put a wrinkle in our 9 month program, extending it to two years long because we discovered we "could not do Hardin Leadership as a virtual class." The 20-21 class took on a whole class project in cooperation with WKTN. The class did fundraising, purchasing, wrapping and delivering of Christmas gifts to 35 Hardin County families. Kuddos went to class members Deb Oestreich, Catherine Osborne Scharf, Lindsay Walden Hollar and Jenny Hildreth, who stuck it out to the end of the project.

1995-1997A Hardin Leadership Alumni group was started. Pat Thomas served as the first President of the Alumni. This al...
04/12/2026

1995-1997
A Hardin Leadership Alumni group was started. Pat Thomas served as the first President of the Alumni. This alumni group conducted a Meet the Candidate Night and published a class directory to promote their group.
During the next two years, paperwork was completed and filed by the late Treasurer Reggie Slack and the late Bill Hart allowing Hardin Leadership to Incorporate (Inc.) in July of 1997. By-Laws were crafted so that Hardin Leadership Inc. served as the "umbrella" or parent organization and the Steering Committees for the Youth and Adult Leadership programs were conducted under the umbrella.

1994-95 to 2014-15Hardin Youth Leadership's first year involved 27 sophomore students from Kenton and Riverdale. Steeri...
04/11/2026

1994-95 to 2014-15
Hardin Youth Leadership's first year involved 27 sophomore students from Kenton and Riverdale. Steering Committee members Rob Radway, Edison Klingler, Ron Morrison, John Roettger, and Kathy Oliver modeled the program after the Adult program. In the following 19 years, over 700 Hardin County students participated in a nine month training which prepared them to take on leadership roles in their schools and communities during their last years of High School. Now you interact with many of these students as adults now who are leading in our Hardin County businesses, schools and community. Many thanks to the School Administrators and Student Advisors who were instrumental in making this program happen.

From 2004 to 2013, Hardin Leadership II flourished. Brad and Laura Wingfield had the vision of putting willing alumni's...
04/11/2026

From 2004 to 2013, Hardin Leadership II flourished. Brad and Laura Wingfield had the vision of putting willing alumni's collective power together to create events that would highlight our county's local treasures--including Lawrence Woods, the SE Hardin Old Order Amish, the Courthouse, and Memorial Park Golf Course. The best known of these activities included "The Concert on the Green", "Buggy Ride Bike Tour, and Courthouse Cinema. Do you remember any of these?

The Past Thirty-four years ago, a collaborative committee representing education, business and the community met in a li...
04/10/2026

The Past
Thirty-four years ago, a collaborative committee representing education, business and the community met in a little office on the second floor of 118 S. Main St and planned the first Hardin Leadership 1993. Thanks Rob Radway, Carolyn Gilbertsen Iamon, Tim Thomas, Jeff Buroker and Kathy Oliver for taking that risk. There were 25 graduates.

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Kenton, OH
43326

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