KLA Kicks Off New Year
KOSCIUSKO — With 20 cadets ready to learn more about Kosciusko County on board, the Kosciusko Leadership Academy year started its year with a county bus tour this past Tuesday, Aug. 28.
The tour included visiting examples of agriculture, tourism, entrepreneurship and travel in Kosciusko County, with stops at the Clunette grain elevator, the Oakwood Resort, Polywood and the Warsaw Municipal Airport.
Averaging $40-50 million in gross annual sales, the Clunette Elevator Co. Inc. is in its 68th year of business. Now a third-generation run family business, the plant supports more than 200K acres with a wide range of services including: grain, seed, and fertilizer sales, soil tests, scouting, GPS services, prescriptive farming and aerial applications.
Using more than 54 million tons of recycled high-density plastics each year, Polywood not only produces high-quality furniture products, but protects the environment by reducing potential landfills. In addition to already experiencing exponential growth since its founding in 1990, Polywood has plans to double in size again by 2020.
At the Warsaw Municipal Airport, airport manager Nick King cited a recent economic impact study revealing that the airport brings $860 million annually to the Warsaw community. With over 16,000 annual operations, the airport is the fifth largest in Indiana.
The next KLA session will cover water resources and development with the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams at the Wawasee Area Conservatory on Sept. 11.
Since 1982, the Kosciusko Leadership Academy has invested in the emerging leaders of our community—people who possess a passion to serve and the courage to lead others. KLA conducts sessions each year that give students access to the frontline issues in our community. KLA’s vision is to develop innovative leaders equipped to tackle the future challenges of our community. For more information about KLA, visit Kosciuskoleadership.org.