Tigan reflects on Leadership Hudson

• Michel Tigan

Michel Tigan

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Michel Tigan of Hudson participated in the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau’s Leadership Hudson program in 2005 and encourages local people to get involved in new sessions coming up later this year.

The program brings together current and emerging leaders from all sectors of the Hudson area and introduces them to topics impacting the community.

Meeting one full day each month, September to June, Leadership Hudson participants connect with leaders who share a commitment to the Hudson community.

“Participants cultivate skills and knowledge, by expanding their knowledge of leadership, communications and citizenship,” said Pat Sherley, Chamber Director of Communications & Programs. “Participants will learn firsthand the challenges and issues facing the Hudson area by exploring interrelationships of government, business, education and the community at large. They can contribute to the vitality of the Hudson area, by helping people who live in the community they care about, ensure the continued health and well-being of the Hudson area, and give back to society more than what they have gathered.”

Leadership Hudson is in its fourth year and now has an alumni association, formed by the 2007-08 group as a community project.

Tigan was in the inaugural class of Leadership Hudson in 2005 and when asked what interested her about the program and why she decided to participate, she said, “Leadership Hudson interested me because it gave me a chance to learn more about the community in which I grew up and was now making a life in.

“As a child you take for granted the amazing community you live in and can’t wait to get out, but I came back to Hudson for a reason: I find it an incredible city full of opportunity to get involved and make a difference. Leadership Hudson opened doors for me to see what those opportunities were and how I could get involved. It also allowed me to meet other community members committed to making the same impact.”

Tigan said Leadership Hudson taught her “how to lead, and how others react to my leadership. I learned that to be a good leader someone has to be willing to follow your path, and to do this you have to have a vision that not only inspires you but inspires and motivate others to get involved. I learned that Hudson has a rich history, one made by leaders who were filled with ideas and through community they made those ideas a reality. I also learned that in leadership you may also fail, but failure is not the end it is only the beginning!”

Her favorite memory of Leadership Hudson is “our day at Camp St. Croix. We bonded immediately, through team building and games — we laughed, played and let down our reservations, expectations and assumptions. It was great!”

Tigan is a graduate of Hudson High School and the University of St. Thomas with a triple major in English, environmental studies, justice and peace studies. After college, Tigan and her husband, Matt Tigan, moved to Maine, where she worked as an Americorps member on a farm.

The couple moved back to Hudson and Tigan started her professional journey at Hawk’s Ridge in 2003. She was later hired as the executive director by Community Action, now Youth Action Hudson, and worked there for three years with youths in service learning, volunteerism and social change.

Tigan is now director of the St. Croix Valley branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters, which serves 262 children. Tigan is also a yoga teacher and birth doula. She serves on the board at YMCA Camp St. Croix and chairs the Program Committee and the Y Partners Major Gifts Campaign. She also belongs to Rotary.

“I would tell someone interested in Leadership Hudson to pursue it,” Tigan said. “When an opportunity arises, take it – it will always change your path, and you may just learn something. I know from experience that you will meet wonderful people and you will be challenged to challenge yourself.”

For information on the 2009-10 Leadership Hudson program, call the Chamber at (715) 386-8411.

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