Project CENTRL, Arizona’s premier rural leadership two-year training program, is winding down its latest class with exciting endeavors and is beginning recruitment efforts for its next class, Class 21.

This year’s Project CENTRL outreach efforts supported unique endeavors.

“We were thrilled to have just hosted the California Agricultural Leadership Class 41 for their study tour on border & immigration issues in March,” said Cheryl Goar, president of Project CENTRL’s Board of Directors. “California’s leadership class visited the Phoenix, Casa Grande, and Nogales area.” 

Highlights for the California group included an agricultural leader panel and legislative panel on immigration reform nationally and in Arizona. A bus tour of the border area, U.S. customs, and the border protection program were also included as well as a border issue panel.

To understand just how exciting the Project CENTRL program is, this year Project CENTRL class 20’s Washington DC national seminar trip will include four days in Pennsylvania.

“The state tour has not occurred for the last few classes and the board is excited to have the budget to add this in again,” said Goar.  “Adding to this excitement is the opportunity for the Arizona class to do the Pennsylvania tour along with the Pennsylvania and Texas leadership programs adding to interaction among the state leadership classes.” 

The Project CENTRL Class 20 trip is April 30 to May 5, 2011.

Applications are now being accepted for Class 21. Applications are due by June 1, 2011. All details, information, and applications are available at http://centrl.org/. Click on ‘Application Process.’

The Project CENTRL educational program consists of 12 interactive seminars scheduled over two years. Class members also have a five-day state or international exchange seminar at the end of the first year. This seminar is an in-depth visit with another state or country that has a similar rural or agricultural leadership program.

A national seminar is taken at the end of the second year to Washington, D.C. All class members are required to complete an internship designed to apply leadership skills learned during Project CENTRL in a community-based project.