Palm Coast man coaches community leaders: Life Coach Pat Williams, Ed.D., of Palm Coast is on a mission to empower others to connect thinking, dreams and ideas with resources available to them. Williams is a Board Certified Coach and a Master Certified Coach as well as a psychologist, author and founder of The Institute for Life Coach Training (ILCT). Since 1998 ILCT has coached leaders in big business as well as government, the medical industry and more. Today Williams remains involved with the organization, but is more actively involved in Coaching the Global Village (CGV), a nonprofit he founded in 2005 with a mission to “empower communities around the world to develop sustainable solutions for pressing human and societal needs.” As Williams put it in a recent interview, “CGV provides new ideas wherever there is an under-served population.”

So what exactly is life coaching?

“It is a special form of consulting that guides people by empowering them to think outside the box. It doesn’t give answers, but rather allows you to think about how you can take your ideas and dreams and move them to reality,” says Williams. He believes that this process helps people move from good to great by bringing out the best in each of us. This is exactly what he hopes to achieve through Coaching the Global Village.

For example, some recent CGV projects include:

■ The Kenya Project 2012. Funding support will allow CGV to work with local leaders of Kenya to keep improving the community, school and families in the years ahead;

■ Kansas Leadership Council 2011. Closer to home, CGV provided a workshop for the Kansas Leadership Council. This community leadership group supports individuals and teams to find their voices, listen deeply to one another, and move beyond conversation to leadership and collective action to build stronger, healthier, more prosperous and more joyful communities.

■ Florida Endowment Foundation Project. The Florida Endowment Foundation is a nonprofit headed by Heather Beaven of Palm Coast and offers educational enrichment programs across the state of Florida. Recently CGV provided training tor staff and mentors in the schools teaching the coach approach and also provided coaching to the administrative staff.

Williams wants to see the benefits of coaching expanded in our community. He hopes that CGV will broaden their partnerships in Flagler County. Life coaching is a holistic approach to developing leadership skills while improving a community. According to Williams, “…within every individual lies a wealth of knowledge and resources that are the source for sustainable solutions.”

With all the needs and problems we are faced with today, it seems that coaching is a needed tool. We all have gifts and skills within us that may be untapped. Coaching can help us reach inside of ourselves and expand those skills into viable ways to reach out and help ourselves and our community. Go to CGV at http://www.coachingtheglobalvillage.org to learn more or email Williams at pat@coachingtheglobalvillage.org

Upcoming events:

■ The Genealogy Society of Flagler County in Palm Coast will meet at the Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Parkway N.W., at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Genealogists love playing detective as they solve family history mysteries. Most, though, have a few unsolved mysteries regarding the women in their family trees. Join genealogy professional Mary Penner as she outlines strategies for tracing our elusive women in a free webinar, “Finding Females in Your Family Tree.”

Her presentation, filled with tips and examples, will help individuals ramp up their detective skills in order to close the case on mystery women. For information, call 386-445-3253.

■ Washington Oaks Park Garden Tour will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Feb. 25 at the park. Join Park Ranger Amanda on a stroll through the formal gardens to learn about the various flowers, plants and animal species that this park has to offer. You will also learn interesting historical information about the park. Be sure to bring your cameras, sunscreen, bug repellent and comfortable walking shoes appropriate for a leisurely stroll through the gardens. The walk departs from the main garden parking lot. Regular park entrance fees apply.

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The Afro-American Caribbean Heritage Organization hosts its 31st Annual Black Heritage Day Festival at Central Park in Town Center, Palm Coast from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 25.

Enjoy food, vendors, entertainment and fun for the whole family. For info, contact Vivian at 386-446-6935.

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That’s it until next time when I will bring you more ideas about things that are going on in the great place we call home in Flagler County. Thanks to those of you that continue to send me calendar items for this column. Please contact me at pcneighbors@cfl.rr.com or visit my blog and leave me a comment there. http://www.wordsetcwriting.com.

Thanks for reading.

Read more:
Palm Coast Neighbors: Man on a mission