Stepping up to serve on a board of directors is about more than taking on a challenge; it’s about caring for a cause, contributing back to the community and creating valuable connections for a lifetime.

Emerging Chester County leaders learned all that and more at the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce’s latest installment of its Education Series: Board Member 101.

The Jan. 19 luncheon at the Chester County Hospital provided an introduction to the value of being on a board of directors and taking a leadership role in the community by probing a panel of people who’ve walked in those very shoes for specifics about what’s expected of a board member, what kind of benefits serving in that role provides and the eventual value created on both sides of the coin — for a board member’s career and for his or her community.

Moderator Tim Walsh of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine Valley invited panelists Mary Ann Feeley of Leadership Chester County, Matt Holliday of Chester County Prothonotary and Jessica Hildebrand of Vanguard to share why they got involved in serving on a board, what they’ve reaped in return, how important the resulting personal relationships have become and what training made the biggest difference in how equipped they were for their board role.