Editorial
Front Page - Friday, June 18, 2010
25 year celebration, leading the way recognizes graduates
Erica Tuggle
Graduates of the Leadership Chattanooga program, who developed the MLK project, are gathered during its unveiling. Leadership Chattanooga and its alumni association is celebrating 25 years of training leaders in their program, producing over 900 graduates in that time such as Sen. Bob Corker and Congressman Zach Wamp.
- Erica Tuggle
In a school like none other, where traditional textbooks or teachers are missing, the spirit of leadership in Chattanooga has been fostered for 25 years. The Leadership Chattanooga program through the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce is celebrating 25 years of graduating classes from its program with an event by the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association.
The event, celebrating graduates from the class of 1984 all the way to the newest May graduates, is August 14 at the Loose Cannon Gallery. During the celebration, awards will be presented to graduates for lifetime achievement, displaying the qualities of an unsung hero and being an emerging leader.
David Higney, a 2006 Leadership Chattanooga graduate, president of the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Assoc-iation (LCAA), attorney with Grant Konvalinka & Harrison and UTC graduate, says those who receive these awards will be those who have made an incredible impact on Chattanooga.
Past graduates of Leadership Chattanooga are known impact makers such as Sen. Bob Corker, Congressman Zach Wamp and the founder of Green Spaces, Jeff Cannon.
Leadership Chattanooga is
a 10-month program, in which approximately 40 chosen Chattanoogans of diverse ages and professions, from homemakers, entrepreneurs and those of the corporate world, come together to engage in activities, classes and projects that involve comprehensive preparation for public decision-making and volunteer service roles.
The program identifies people of promise in early or mid-career, familiarizes them with community issues and services and develops their leadership skills to prepare them for prominent business, cultural and political roles.
“While the projects they do are important, the process is more important, and that is the process of learning what it takes to be a leader, what your strengths and weaknesses are and how to work with those, how to facilitate a group and goal setting,” Higney says.
Leadership Chattanooga presents these lessons in creative ways, he says, such as the time his class visited the Chickamauga Battlefield and learned about the leaders of the Battle Above the Clouds campaign, their effective decisions and their lost opportunities in using the talents of their peers.
“This helps recognize these things in our own situations and the need to pay attention to everyone on the team and their contributions,” Higney says.
With over 900 graduates of the program, the LCAA then steps in to engage them on a continuing basis for networking opportunities, social activities and other opportunities for leadership training and developing vision for Chattanooga’s future, Higney says. They work to try to keep the young professionals and leaders in Chattanooga, develop and encourage them, he says.
The alumni association does this in a variety of ways. One of their events was a Volkswagen summit with the chief purchaser. This event helped explain to alumni members how they could be involved with Volkswagen on a core basis with their business, Higney says.
Another was Coffee with the Candidates in Miller Plaza, where they invited over 30 candidates from the school board, county commission and other areas so members could meet candidates face to face and have their questions answered. Higney says this helped the LCAA reach out to their alumni members and to the community at large.
They also plan to follow up on an economic summit meeting they had that diagnosed possible problems associated with the recession. This upcoming session will readdress these topics and new ideas will be exchanged, he says.
In the works for the LCAA, is the “Dare to Dine” idea where leaders will bid to meet with an unknown person in a group setting to dine and talk about issues that interest them. This will give young leaders a chance to network with older leaders, and there will be the opportunity to facilitate heartfelt conversation for future progress, Higney says.
“It is good networking and keeps people involved, and possibly facilitates some idea making that could lead to vision, goal setting and ultimately benefits for the citizens,” he says.
Higney says those who have gone through the program feel attachment to it to return as alumni members and continue the work as leaders.
“I think once you’ve gone through the program and see the results, you want to continue to be involved and ‘pay it forward,’” he says. “Leadership Chattanooga helped crystallize that process of vision, and leadership and accepting failure as part of getting to your ultimate goal.
“It also encourages those of us who have been involved before to stay involved and that leadership is not a one time thing.”
Nominations for the 25th anniversary celebration awards can be made through a link on the Chamber of Commerce Web site through the end of June.
The awards are peer-reviewed by leadership groups from outside cities to find
those who have affected growth and change in Chattanooga and its citizens.
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