Led by John Boyd, whose long list of civic activities includes time as president of Western North Carolina Entrepreneurial Council, president of the Business and Merchants Association and a Chamber board member of Henderson and Transylvania Counties, Vision Henderson County's mission is to promote informed and committed civic volunteerism.

Vision's programs are designed to help participants acquire both a fuller sense of the wide array of critical issues affecting Henderson County and the leadership skills necessary to motivate and engage others in collaborative efforts to resolve them.

Vision Henderson County participants meet the 2nd Thursday of each month, September through May. Each day-long class is spent meeting with local officials, community leaders and touring businesses and organizations that make Henderson County viable. Vision covers local government, economic development, business and industry, law enforcement and public safety, cultural resources and arts, the environment and natural resources and education.

Among the skills participants become familiar with are:

• Inclusiveness - learning to listen and include persons who look, think and act differently than themselves.
• Trusteeship - people who see the common good and make decisions with many perspectives in view.
• Vision - moving from an understanding of the past and "how it's always been done" to acting on strengths and creating and acting on a shared community vision.
• Change Agent - learning to live with change, ambiguity and common diversity.