"Leadership Springfield alumni bring the knowledge of the community and important networking abilities to nonprofit boards in a way that is productive and significant."

 

-Emily Fox, CEO, Discovery Center of Springfield, Class XV

LS newsletter

This month in the Leadership Springfield E-News Brief:                                                

  • An In-Depth Look at Class XIV Member Andrew Well

Graduate describes program as inspirational, yet challenging

 This month we take a look at Andrew Wells, an architect and principal at Dake Wells Architecture, and a member of Class XIV.

 Wells has been in the Springfield area for more than 20 years. He attended Waynesville High School and received his college degree in Springfield at Drury University. Wells and wife Tara have two sons together – Eli and Isaac.

 Wells is involved in countless professional organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, the National Council of Architectural Registration Board, the Society for College and University Planners, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

 “Leadership Springfield allowed me to increase my involvement in the community beyond my own professional organizations,” he said.

 Wells, also actively involved in the local community, serves as a member of the Leadership Springfield Board, the Downtown Springfield Association and the Southeast Rotary.

 In his free time, Wells enjoys hobbies such as baseball, music, golf and working on his 1963 Chevy II Nova SS.

 “Going through the program was inspirational,” he said. “It challenged me in ways I had not been challenged in years. It challenged me to think conceptually about solving problems, relating to others, and serving the community.”

 Wells said he enjoyed seeing another side of the Springfield community and its resources.

 “I have found the contacts made through the program to be valuable in the years that followed graduation,” he said.

 Relationships are the key to life, Wells said describing the importance of Leadership Springfield.

 “Because the Leadership Springfield program brings a limited number of individuals together for a period of time and focuses their efforts on a set of common goals, stronger bonds are formed with those individuals than in a typical community or business setting. In many cases, lifelong friendships are formed. Those relationships make it much easier to not only know who to contact on a particular issue, but they remove barriers to communication and collaboration.”

 Wells said the Leadership Springfield program is a great way to “get plugged in to what is happening in Springfield.”

 “I have believed for some time that Springfield has entered a period of transition, transformation and re-invention that will be observed by future historians as a significant chapter in the city’s history,” he said. “No single individual can ensure that this period will be looked upon with favor – it will take a multitude of people working collaboratively to make it happen.”

 Leadership Springfield is the best way to make this happen, according to Wells.

 “No doubt Leadership Springfield will benefit the individual by engaging them, but it will likely benefit the community even more."

 

The Leadership Springfield E-News Brief was created to help graduates keep in touch with what's going on with Leadership Springfield. If you have any story suggestions for the monthly edition or a hot news tip about a Leadership Springfield, L.I.F.T., or academy graduate who would make an interesting profile, please contact Kim Everest at 417.862.5567 or e-mail her at kim(at)springfieldchamber.com.