Business council unveils new leadership program

Cheryl Hentz

Contributor

May 11, 2026

PORTAGE COUNTY – For more than 30 years, the Portage County Business Council has offered Leadership Portage County (LPC) – a monthly, 10-day program over 10 months focused on county education. 

Now, President/CEO Michael Witte said the council is looking to broaden its offerings for business people and entrepreneurs beyond the single program. 

“People truly love Leadership Portage County, and you learn a lot about the county,” he said. “For example, one of the days is a not-for-profit day where seven to nine nonprofits are brought in, and each of them is introduced to the group.”

Witte said this gives participants a chance to meet other not-for-profits in the community they may not be familiar with.

“Some of the other days include a Health and Human Services Day and a Government Day,” he said, “where we get people like the mayor and the county executive in to talk with the group about how they do.” 

Witte said it is a robust, comprehensive program that business people are consistently eager to participate in.

“We know there are people in the community who want a leadership program but can’t afford to take off one day a month from work to attend,” he said. “Maybe they’re a sole proprietor, or maybe a company only has two or three people in the office and can’t afford to have a person gone all day. So, we knew we needed to offer something different.”

In addition to that, Witte said that when people graduate every May from Leadership Portage County, he’s always asked, “What comes next?” 

“We felt we needed a Leadership 2.0-type program,” he said. “For about two years now, we’ve been looking at what we could offer next.”

But Witte said council staff didn’t have the capacity to develop and run another leadership program on their own, prompting a need for partnership with a local business.

This, he said, led the council to partner with Stevens Point-based XperienceFusion – a professional development training company – to create a new leadership opportunity for Leadership Portage County graduates, as well as others seeking an alternative to the traditional program format.

Unveiled and ready

The result, Witte said, is Forged: Leadership Redefined – a year-long program featuring self-paced, online micro-learning sessions, each lasting six to eight minutes and focused on building leadership skills and developing participants as leaders.

“The first portion of the program helps participants learn about themselves,” he said. “For example, it’ll help them learn about their own individual leadership style and how to develop that. The next segment focuses on leadership education.”

Witte said participants can go through the online portion of the program as quickly or as slowly as they wish, “though it is recommended that they do two to three sessions per week.”

In addition to the online sessions, Witte said participants meet in person once per quarter for evening leadership gatherings, allowing them to take part without missing work.

In an announcement of its launch, Portage County Business Council Director of Professional Development Holly Fox said the new program is designed to “challenge perspectives, strengthen leadership capacity and create lasting impact both personally and professionally.” 

“We are excited to share that a strong and engaged cohort has already committed to their journey, and there is still room at the table,” she said. “We would be thrilled to welcome additional participants who are ready to invest in themselves, expand their leadership approach, and be part of a forward-thinking community of peers.”

Fox said May 15 is the registration deadline for the first cohort, with the program officially beginning May 18.

The program – which has no cap on enrollment – she said, costs $1,949, or, as the council puts it, about “$5.33 a day.”

Future of Leadership Portage County 

Witte said the launch of Forged: Leadership Redefined doesn’t mean LPC is going away.

The program – which costs $1,600 per year and challenges participants to broaden their understanding of Portage County, while building leadership skills through networking, education and community engagement – he said, will continue to be available for anyone who wants to enroll.

Witte said each full-day session combines leadership skill development and character building with exploration of community programs and challenges.

He said the monthly sessions, held at varying locations, each focus on a community theme, including Portage County history, agribusiness, diversity, equity and inclusion, nonprofits, health and wellness, local government and economic development.

Though participants could technically enroll in both LPC and Forged at the same time, Witte said it would be a lot to take on. 

“People can do Forged without having gone through LPC, or they can do LPC without going on to do Forged, or they can do one after the other, but it would be a lot for someone to do at the same time,” he said.

Witte said the council is already accepting applications for next year’s LPC program – noting strong interest, with many people eager to get into the program.

For those unable to commit to a full workday each month, he said the “Forged: Leadership Redefined” program offers an alternative, still providing many of the same leadership development skills.

One final note, Witte said, is that a name change is in the works for the Portage County Business Council.

Witte said the organization plans to return to using “chamber of commerce in some way, shape or form” – noting that the term “business council” is not widely understood.

“As an organization, we went through a strategic planning session in 2025,” he said. “Staff is already working on a new name and logo.”

Witte said he anticipates they’ll make a formal announcement about the name change in January 2027.

More information about the Business Council and its many offerings can be found at portagecountybiz.com.