AUBURN - For those gathered at the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce offices Wednesday evening, it was a proud moment as the chamber kicked off its 20th year of Leadership Cayuga.

The members of the new class were joined by previous members of Leadership Cayuga, a program that is designed to empower individuals to take on leadership roles and develop problem solving skills for addressing community needs and challenges.

“What a way to kick off the new year,” Terri Bridenbecker, executive director of the chamber, said. “We have proud graduates of the program and we have our new students. I ask you to allow yourselves to examine your goals and to get to know the people in your class. They will be the ones that are there to support your failures and celebrate your successes.”

Ellen Mousin first introduced the program to Auburn after encountering a similar program while visiting family near Saratoga Springs.

Ginny Kent, program coordinator for Leadership Cayuga, said the program has grown from the encouraging responses it has received since Mousin brought the idea to the community. It currently has more than 400 alumni, and will have more than 450.

“I think as more people have participated in the program and they have gone back to work and talked about it, they have got more people interested in it and their employers have seen that it has been beneficial, and this has just grown from there.”

Kent also noted that the support the program has received from various businesses and organizations in the community, such as NUCOR, has had a tremendous impact on the growth of Leadership Cayuga.

For this session, 26 community members from a diverse section of backgrounds and fields of work have chosen to participate in the program.

“We usually aim for 20,” Kent said. “It fluctuates from year to year, but this is a really good turnout.”

Over the course of the six months, members of this year's class will meet twice a month at various locations throughout the community to explore various topics of interest, from politics to education to ways of generally improving and strengthening the community as a whole.

With members ranging from high school age to teachers to entertainers, Kent believes that this year's class has a great deal to offer.

“I'm excited about this class,” Kent said. “It is a generational class of all ages and backgrounds and experiences and I think it will be a very unique class with such a wide array of people.”

Those who have stepped up to get involved in taking a more active role in the leadership of the community have done so for a variety of reasons.

Gabe Hayes, a senior at Auburn high School, said that he was interested in learning the skills that the program has to offer.

“I'm heading to college next year,” Hayes said. “I think this will help teach me good leadership skills.”

Others wanted to take the class for the opportunity to learn more about their community.

“I'm not from here originally,” Jessica Cantu of the Merry-Go-Round Theatre, said. “I wanted to learn more about my community and how to better serve it.”

Over the next six months members of the class will gather for discussion and seminars that will get them thinking about the community, its issues and ways to help the community grow and improve, all the while learning about themselves as leaders.

“I hope that people can take away a broader view of their community,” Kent said. “I also hope that this experience will help all of them move forward and help them find ways to bring their goals to the next level.”