State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) will represent the 59th Senate District in this year’s Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development (BILLD) program, an annual training institute for state leaders in the Midwest.
“It is an honor to have been selected to take part in a leadership program that focuses on bringing lawmakers together to share ideas and collaborate,” said Sen. Fowler. “Everyone has different outlooks and perspectives when it comes to handling issues or approaching policy ideas. This institute is about embracing our differences and learning from each other to become better leaders and lawmakers.”
BILLD was founded in 1995 to address a shortage of training available for new legislators. According to the Council of State Governments, the Bowhay Institute in the only leadership training program designed exclusively for Midwestern legislators.
“There’s no ‘how-to’ guide on being a state legislator. This job is about having a passion to serve, a willingness to learn, and a desire to make a difference,” said Sen. Fowler. “This fellowship recognized that new lawmakers are learning each and every day to be the best voice they can be for the people we represent.”
Legislators eligible to be chosen as BILLD fellows include lawmakers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin in their first four years of legislative service. Sen. Fowler will be joined by 37 other lawmakers in this year’s 2018 BILLD fellowship class. Fellows will gather together August 10-14 at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs for the 24th annual Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development.
The Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development is named in honor of the late James Bowhay, longtime director of The Council of State Governments’ Midwestern Office. The program is funded through grants from foundation and corporate sponsors and an in-kind contribution provided by The Council of State Governments’ Midwestern Office.