Leadership Cape Projects inspire creative thought: Some 100 projects proposed in 20 years

Monday, November 4, 2019 ~ Updated 8:03 AM

What do a local baseball team, food trucks and a children's museum have in common? Each one has roots in a team project developed as part of Leadership Cape.

The seven-month-long Cape Chamber program marks 20 years of team projects in 2019.

In the program, class participants visit businesses, schools and other organizations each month to learn how their community works. From city development and education to mass media and government, participants are exposed to leaders from various industries. Some leadership theory is mixed in, but overall, the program gives up-and-comers an inside look at their community and how they can get involved.

Team projects are part of the leadership component. The 30-plus participants are put into groups with a mix of personalities and leadership styles. Five to seven individuals develop an idea and pitch it in front of the chamber's First Friday Coffee gathering.

If you talk with Cape Chamber Vice President Kim Voelker about the team projects, you'll likely hear a consistent statement: "It's about the process."

At a recent class recap meeting, participants said they were initially apprehensive about the team projects, but by the end of their project, they had learned how to work with different individuals. Those differences range from the planners who wanted to meet every week to the free-spirited folks who work best under pressure.

Groups are not required to design a project that will move forward; the chamber makes that clear. The reality, though, is that many of the groups pick an idea that could happen.

"They all want to be involved with something that is going to happen, going to take place," Voelker told B Magazine.

Many ideas from the program have been implemented in Cape Girardeau. Even if they aren't implemented, however, they give the community an idea of what people are thinking about.

What's trending?

A look at the list of Leadership Cape group projects shows 97 project ideas since 1999. Nearly 30% have some connection to downtown Cape Girardeau.

Voelker said this gravitation to the downtown area is not surprising.

"People tend to gravitate toward the downtown area," Voelker said. "They want to see a lot of activity happening that's walkable, that's safe."

Youth, teens and mentorship have come up multiple times as the focus of team projects. Voelker said another repeated theme is community and entertainment -- and particularly, family entertainment.

Team makeup plays a role in the selection of team projects, as does passion from individual group members. But for projects to be successful, Voelker said it has to be something that improves quality of life.

Some ideas might not move forward, but they can still serve as an "outlet for creativity," she said.

"I think if you take a look at the list of all the projects, the things that have actually happened or in some form happened, when we present these projects, [the City of Cape and other entities are] excited about it," Voelker said. "They attend these presentations. Or they follow up to see what things were actually presented, because especially if you're a businessperson or entrepreneur, it might be a great opportunity for you to sit in the room and say, 'That's a great idea.' And [the teams have] already done some of the leg work."

The projects that became reality

Cape Catfish

This summer, Cape Girardeau enjoyed collegiate wood bat baseball at Capaha Field, thanks to the addition of the Cape Catfish, a new team in the Prospect League.

While a minor league baseball team has been discussed numerous times over the years and presented in 2004 by a Leadership Cape group, the Catfish -- though not considered a minor league team -- didn't move forward until investor Andy Patel and banker Jim Limbaugh made the decision to give it a chance.

The Catfish manager was Steve Larkin, brother of Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin. Longtime Southeast Missouri State University head baseball coach Mark Hogan was hired as the general manager, and former Southeast associate athletic director Cindy Gannon was also brought on board by the leadership team.

Thousands filled the stands, right field home run deck and grass hillside along the first base line for 30-plus home games and playoff contests. By all accounts, it was a big win for Cape Girardeau.

Food Truck Friday

Another event with its genesis in Leadership Cape is Food Truck Friday, a group project Jamie Phillips was part of in 2014. As the project and event manager at rustmedia, Phillips now spearheads the event each May in the rustmedia parking lot in downtown Cape Girardeau.

"When we presented our project in 2014, food trucks were a new concept to our area, and one of the biggest obstacles they faced was finding a place to set up," Phillips said. "Having seen similar events be successful in larger cities such as Nashville, St. Louis and Austin, our team thought, 'Why can't that happen in Cape?' Our hope was that having an organized event would help the food truck community grow while providing a family-friendly atmosphere where residents could come together and interact."

The event has become one many people in the community look forward to.

"Seeing the growth of food trucks and the camaraderie among the trucks combined with the ample space behind 325 Broadway made the creation of Food Truck Friday by rustmedia and The Scout a no brainer. We've done it four times now, and each time, the community and downtown business owners have embraced it."

Discovery Playhouse

Perhaps one of the most ambitious projects completed with ties to Leadership Cape is the Discovery Playhouse.

Brittney Lee, vice president and chief financial officer for First Missouri State Bank, was part of a 2006 team that pitched the idea of the Discovery Playhouse children's museum.

Lee said several members of her group had small children at the time and felt this was something Cape Girardeau was missing.

"[It was] kind of one of those things we had seen in other communities, and it was something we felt would be good for Cape. And obviously, it was," she said.

The Leadership Cape projects might still be most valuable in teaching group members how to interact with each other. After all, it's about "the process," as Voelker said. But there's certainly another clear advantage to this type of crowdsourcing: these group projects effectively serve as mini-innovation labs that can give Cape Girardeau, Jackson and the surrounding communities ideas for the future. That's a creative way to develop both dynamic leaders and innovative ideas.