2024 Class Application – Cornerstone Class 42

Which Leadership Florida Class Program is the right one for you?

• Leadership Florida Connect and Cornerstone Class Program applicants must meet specific age requirements. The Leadership Florida Education Class Program has no age requirements.
• Applicants must be 40 or older to be eligible for the Cornerstone Class Program.
• Applicants aged 25-39 are eligible for the Leadership Florida Connect Class Program.

The specified age is September 1 for the upcoming class year.  For example, the specified date for the 2024-2025 Program Year is September 1, 2024.

Your date of birth must be on or before September 1, 1984, to apply for Cornerstone Class 42.

The Application Deadline is Friday, March 8, 2024, at Noon (12:00 pm EST)

For technical support:
Call or text (850) 591-9597

Preparing for Your Application

As you prepare to complete this application, please review the following information designed to help you understand Leadership Florida and the selection process better.  A statewide Selection Committee reviews each application; your application should reflect who you are.

Please use the CONTACT US form on our website for technical issues relating to this application form.

This application contains several questions that will take significant time to complete. Below are several suggestions to make the process smoother.

• We highly suggest downloading the sample applications available on our website as a working copy when preparing your application.  Please remember, however, that all applications must be digitally submitted through this form.  No paper or emailed applications will be processed.
• Plan to schedule a time to remain uninterrupted for the entire process.
• Have all the information available, such as your résumé and reference information, as outlined on the sample application.
• Open-ended questions will have character limits.  Review these carefully before beginning your response.  For your reference, a counter is included near the bottom right of each text field with limits (example format: 0 of 100 max words).
• Do not leave your browser idle for an extended period.
• A PDF of this application is available here.  Paper applications will not be accepted and are provided as a courtesy only.
• You will be allowed to review and edit your responses before final submission.
• This form has a "Save and Resume" feature.  We encourage you to use this feature early in the process.

Note: When using Save & Resume, files uploaded to the form and signatures will NOT be saved to the form until the form is submitted to the database.  You should not upload files or sign the forms until you are ready to submit them.

About Leadership Florida

Leadership Florida is celebrating 42 years of educating, engaging, and inspiring Florida’s leaders.  Leadership Florida is a highly respected and trusted leadership organization.  Our mission is to continually convene a statewide community of committed leaders to enhance and recharge their leadership skills and to educate and inspire them to work across their strengths and diversities for a better Florida.  We engage Floridians by providing meaningful forums for sharing essential information and viewpoints, and we create opportunities for shared experiences that are inviting, inspiring, and of lasting value.

One of the many ways we work to accomplish our mission is through our Cornerstone Class program.  For our forty-second Class, 55 leaders aged 40 and older will be chosen to participate in a stimulating and thought-provoking 7-8-month educational program that consists of a series of 5 (five) two-day sessions held in cities throughout the state, the culmination of which is the equivalent of a sixth session where you will join fellow Leadership Florida members at our Annual Meeting.  These sessions include programming on issues critical to Florida, refining well-developed leadership skills via sessions with leadership experts, and relevant information on Florida's history, demography, diversities, challenges, and opportunities.

One of the program's most rewarding and lasting benefits is the chance to spend valuable time interacting with other leaders from various professions, philosophies, and geographies who represent Florida's diverse ethnic and racial composition.  The Class program sessions provide ample experiences designed to facilitate the deepening of relationships among the Class members and thus extend the network of relationships that form the fabric of our statewide leadership.

Graduation from our Classes does not signify the end but the beginning of a lifetime of opportunity as a Leadership Florida membership network member. Leadership Florida convenes regular regional and statewide meetings to facilitate continuing issues-oriented education, advanced leadership training, networking, and the opportunity for members to work together toward shared goals.

The over 3,600 graduates of Leadership Florida Class Programs are men and women who serve as chief executive officers and high-level executives of some of Florida's top corporations, mayors, and other elected officials, executives of pivotal non-profit groups, and leading academicians. They are also farmers, managers of high-tech consortiums, rural hospital administrators, and head Florida's most important agencies. They own small businesses and even include law enforcement officers in communities throughout our state. They are committed to local and state communities through their collective service on over 5,000 boards of companies and organizations throughout Florida.

Selection Criteria

The Leadership Florida Selection Committee, comprised of Leadership Florida graduates from throughout the state, seeks to identify those most likely to utilize their leadership abilities for Florida's long-term benefit and individuals committed to making Florida a better place to live and prosper.  Throughout the application process, including discussions with references, the committee strives to select participants who will provide the Class with broad professional, geographic, ethnic, and gender representation.  The basic profile and criteria for selection include the following:

•    Senior-level leaders with significant achievements in career and community
•    Sincere concern about the future of Florida and a personal commitment to help shape its future
•    Demonstrated commitment to the community through past and present activities
•    The potential for exercising substantial leadership in the future
•    Willingness to commit the time and energy necessary to continue involvement in the organization.

Company Limits

Leadership Florida limits applicants to one per company per Class.

Example: Only one applicant from ABC Company will be sent to the Selection Committee for Cornerstone Class 42, and one applicant will be sent for Connect Class 14.

Previous Graduates

It is a rare exception when Leadership Florida accepts a member into more than one Class Program.  If you are a current member of Leadership Florida and are interested in applying for a Class different from the one you graduated from, please get in touch with us to discuss your situation so we can provide some guidance.

References

All applicants must include two references, and one must be a Leadership Florida Member reference.  Please include this person as Reference #1 on your application.

Members of the Selection Committee will contact all references.

Application Procedure

All applications must be submitted electronically through this form no later than Friday, March 8, 2024, at Noon EST.

A processing fee of $100 must accompany the application.  After confirming your application information, you will be taken to a secure page for credit card information input.

Your application will not be complete until:
•You have digitally signed your application
•You have accepted the policies and terms and clicked the final "Submit."
•Leadership Florida has received your processing fee

The Selection Committee's decision will be announced at the Leadership Florida Annual Meeting (June 13-16, 2024).

Please remember that the Selection Committee is building a Class representative of Florida's professional, geographic, age, racial, gender, and ethnic diversities.

Cancellation Policy

Leadership Florida strongly encourages participants to take their commitment seriously. Our cancellation policy is as follows:

• Withdrawal before August 1, 2024: full refund less $250.
• Withdrawal after August 1, 2024 will result in 100% of tuition forfeiture. Those funds will instead become a tax-deductible donation to Leadership Florida.  This policy also applies to new Class members who cannot fulfill the attendance requirements.

Tuition and Payment Policy

Tuition for Cornerstone Class 42 is $5,500.

Tuition is payable upon acceptance to the Class. This amount includes most meals during meetings but does not include lodging. This amount also includes your first year's annual dues of $295 and 2025 Annual Meeting Registration.

All tuition must be paid by August 1, 2024. Failure to pay tuition by this date will result in eliminating your place in the Class, and an alternate will be placed in your slot.

Participation

Participants are REQUIRED to attend each session in its entirety to graduate with their Class. Leadership Florida strictly enforces this policy.

Class program sessions typically begin around noon on the first day listed and end around noon on the last day listed.   Specific times will be provided after the Class is selected.

Class dates are as follows:

Cornerstone Class 42

October 25-27, 2024: River Ranch
December 11-13, 2024: Jacksonville
January 13-15, 2025: Tallahassee
March 5-7, 2025: Tampa
April 22-24, 2025: Miami
June 12-15, 2025: Tampa

Employer Commitment

All applicants must submit a signed statement by their current employer acknowledging the Class program's time commitment and confirming that the applicant will attend each session.

Please state your workplace's mission statement. If your workplace does not have a mission statement, please indicate your own or elaborate on your role in your workplace.

Briefly describe your current position and corresponding responsibilities.

Please list employment for the past ten years in reverse chronological order (including active military duty). List beginning and ending dates and your job title.

Choose one of the following categories that best describes your present employment:

The Selection Committee places great emphasis on the time you commit to improving your community through volunteer activities.

In order of importance to you (#1 is most important), list up to 5 organizations in which you are currently active or have been active in the past, and in which you have assumed a leadership role. Organizations may include (but are not limited to):
*Volunteer
*Community
*Civic
*Professional
*Business
*Social
*Athletic
*Religious

Please list any other business or professional organizations, board, or civic/volunteer activities that were not outlined in your previous responses.

Please describe an issue that you have impacted personally, which illustrates your actions as a trustee of your community.

If you have not had the time or interest to become actively involved, what conditions have changed that now enable you to seek involvement in your community and state?

At Leadership Florida, we continually discover and convene committed individuals, enhancing and recharging their leadership skills by introducing them to an influential community through whom they find knowledge and inspiration. We engage Floridians by providing essential information and a meaningful forum for their opinions and create opportunities for shared experiences that are inviting, inspiring, and of lasting value.

Describe your unique blend of personality, skills, and life experiences that you would contribute to your class and the Leadership Florida mission.

Explain what you consider the two most pressing problems facing Florida.

Please share what you love most about Florida.

Important!

Note: When using Save & Resume, files uploaded to the form and signatures will NOT be saved to the form until the form is submitted to the database. Users should not upload files or sign the forms until they are ready to submit.

I understand the purpose of the Leadership Florida program, and if I am selected, I will devote the time and resources necessary to complete the entire program. I understand that all sessions in their entirety are mandatory and that even though emergencies do arise, any participant not adhering to this policy may be asked to withdraw from the program and no portion of the tuition shall be refunded.  I have the full support of my employer for the time required to participate.

I also understand that Leadership Florida is much more than an eight-month curriculum and that if selected, I will strive to become an active member of the organization by sharing my time, talents, and resources to support its work.

Further, I understand that, if accepted, full tuition must be paid by August 1, 2024, to ensure my slot in this class.  Failure to pay tuition by this date will eliminate my place in the class, and an alternate will be placed in my slot.

I have read and agree to all of the terms outlined in this application and agree to be bound by the above commitments in signing this application.