Perry Leadership Institute graduation ceremony held

It’s to die for. Sort of … In a not-literal way, that’s how Georgia Chamber CEO Chris Clark summed Perry’s leadership.

“It’s a great place to talk about leadership,” he said at Thursday’s Perry Chamber of Commerce’s Perry Leadership Institute graduation ceremony – and in regard to the ceremony and the city in general. “To talk about if we want to grow our economy. Have prosperity in our community. It takes making tough decisions. Doing the hard work to get it done. You’ve got a history of that here. A lot of communities would kill to have what you’ve had from here, people that have gone on to success.” (Two in particular he mentioned were Sen. Sam Nunn and Larry Walker.)

“All around you, you’ve got leaders who understand the economy and what it means to be a good servant leader.”

Clark went on to talk a considerable amount about “servant” leadership and its importance. It, he said was a core philosophy and he used examples such as President Ronald Reagan and the leadership coming together to make the Kia plant in Troup County a reality.

As far as the institute graduates Clark said: “You get to make the decision when you leave here today. Is this just going to be a nice thing that fills up your resume? Or is this going to be something that ‘I’m going to run for office’ or be a better little league coach or be a better wife or husband or be a better supporter of economic development. That’s your choice.”

The PLI, said Mary Beth Bass, who served as the co-chair, launched in January – planning for it a year in the making, she said. It, she said, involved a diverse group of community leaders representing very different perspectives. (In fact, the 18 graduates were a combination of bankers, lawyers, builders, law enforcement and more.)

“If the (Perry) chamber was going to invest as much time and energy in redeveloping our leadership program,” she said. “There was great thought and desire and emphasis in making sure this would be a major leader experience.

We wanted to challenge partners to link the all-around knowledge that we were expecting them to bring in terms of community awareness … around local issues … with real leadership development skills so we could grow a new group of thoughtful and intentional leaders who would not only understand their community and the issues, but would also have the capacity to effect change and make a difference.”

“We wanted to link the ‘why’ of community leadership with the ‘what’ of economical development.”

Bass added: “It was without a doubt an experiment, and a risky one, but I’m very proud of the Perry chamber and its leadership and what tonight’s graduates were willing to take on. All contributed to its success.”

2014 Perry Leadership Institute graduates:

• Samantha Arrington
• Sara Barron
• Lillie Battle
• Kellie Bowen
• Rebecca Dunaway
• Donnell Eaton
• James Farmer
• Ben Hulbert
• Matthew Hulbert
• Hamp Jones
• David Loudermilk
• Steve Lynn
• Burke Murph
• Dan Perdue
• Jacob Poole
• Christa Stone
• Janet Thompson
• Ross Yasin

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