Cindy Black

Cindy Black believes Colby is one of the best communities in Kansas.  She is a well-known advocate for the community who devotes countless hours to civic organizations including serving as a Board of Trustees member at Colby Community College.  In addition to owning and operating her own business, Black recently completed her bachelor’s degree from Friend’s University.  She is the recipient of a Kansas Community Leadership Initiative “Leader-Full” Community Award which is awarded to individuals who exemplify servant leadership in their daily lives.  Black was instrumental in the formation of the Thomas County Community Foundation and achieving the matching grant process offered by the Kansas Health Foundation.  She has served as co-facilitator of the Leadership Thomas County Program for many years and was a member of the CCC Endowment Foundation Board of Directors.  In addition, she has been a participant in KCLI Ambassadors for the Kansas Health Foundation since 1999.
Black recently completed Advanced Facilitation Training for Getting Results through Effective Teamwork sponsored by Contemporary Consulting of Richmond, Ind.  Working with real situations, Black planned and executed appropriate facilitation processes and experiences.
“I was invited to attend because of my previous involvement with the Kansas Leadership Initiative that the Kansas Health Foundation provided,” said Black.  “The training began in 1999 and has continued since that time.  It was a plan to make Kansas the best place to raise a child.  Colby was one of 17 communities invited to participate in the program.”
Mary Jo Clark and Pat Heiny, owners of Contemporary Consulting, organized the training workshop.
“Today teams from work departments to nonprofit boards to family groups are called on to work well together while accomplishing great results,” said Clark.  “Current facilitation practices require a willingness to help groups solve problems through discussion while simultaneously developing the abilities of the participants to lead and carry out the devised solutions.”
“The workshop was absolutely a worthwhile experience,” explained Black.  “It provided me with lifelong skills.  It was a reminder of the skills we use everyday as well as it taught a new way of working through difficult situations.  The workshop provided the necessary skills to ask the right questions when a group is in chaos.  The skills are learned to enable participants to facilitate a group from chaos, to unity, to becoming a performing community.”
Black offers a three-prong approach to facilitation: developing the skills and capacities of participants, creating a trusting and respectful team dynamic, and working toward innovative solutions.
“The workshop will assist in my role as a board member and community volunteer,” said Black.  “When the difficult questions need to be asked, it will give me the tools to do it in an unobtrusive manner.  This will enable the board to process through decisions in a different manner making sure we look at all angles and ask the hard questions to ensure a solid decision.  I will use these skills at work, home and with the Leadership Thomas County program.  Leilani Thomas and I are the co-facilitators for that group.”
Attending the workshop provided Black with an opportunity to talk with a diverse audience about Colby Community College.
“I shared information about the positive impact that CCC has on our community and in northwest Kansas.  I was able to share the challenges/opportunities we have living in a rural community.  Colby College is providing a strong education for our future leaders.  For this reason, it is of utmost importance that CCC is the leader in education and continues to be involved in the community as well as in northwest Kansas.”
The successful completion of the advanced training prepares Black to analyze groups and the root challenges they face as their team works together.  Black will assist groups with identifying diverse learning needs, engaging the participants in interactive learning activities with the goal that the participants will become the problem solvers.