Catoosa County Chamber’s Leadership Class is the largest ever
The Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce hosted a Chamber Networking at Lunch event at The Colonnade in Ringgold. Chamber member, Catering By Alan catered the event.
The Chamber’s Leadership Catoosa Class of 2023 is the largest class ever, with 27 individuals earning the coveted award in the shape of the state of Georgia for their participation over the past nine months. Leadership Catoosa brings together existing and emerging leaders to discover and better understand Catoosa County. Together they use a creative approach to build leadership skills to show how they can make a difference in business and the community.
Leadership Catoosa is an interactive program where Chamber members participate in one full-day monthly session. During these sessions, they study their community; visit state legislators during the General Assembly; build teamwork and leadership skills, and have opportunities to network with leaders in the community. This year’s class began in September 2022 with an overnight team-building stay at the WinShape Retreat on the Berry College Campus in Rome, Ga. It ended nine months later with Local Business Day, where the group toured Catoosa County manufacturing plants and visited area small businesses.
The 2023 Leadership Catoosa Class included the following participants:
Lisa Wiley Builtwell Bank
Lisa Romero Builtwell Bank
Chris Dutto Cadence Bank
Bobby Daniels Baltzer Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce
Vanita Hullander Catoosa County Government
Alex Harrison Catoosa County Government
Mark Pierce Catoosa County Public Schools
Josh Moore Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office
Karla Russell CHI Memorial Hospital
Phil Minton City of Fort Oglethorpe
Chief Keith Sewell City of Fort Oglethorpe Police Department
Jamie Klementisz City of Ringgold
Jennifer Toomey CMG Financial
Geo Mejia Edward Jones
Lynn Fant Erlanger Hospital
Stewart Mosman Kiwanis of Fort Oglethorpe
Tina Pinkston LIFT Youth Center
Mark Collins Metro Boiler Tube
David Day North Georgia EMC
Tami Rich PruittHealth – Fort Oglethorpe
Holly Lehmann RH Real Estate Company
Rita Croft Ringgold Telephone Company
Cindy Chandler Sexual Assault Victims Advocacy Center
Mark Hartline Shaw Industries
Evette Wheeler Shaw Industries
Dustin Young Shaw Industries
Loraine Young USA Mortgage
The 2023 Leadership Catoosa Class organized “Operation Stuffed Animal” as their class service project. Participants collected over 1,700 new stuffed animals to provide to first responders, non-profits, and nursing homes throughout Catoosa County to distribute to those who could use comfort in times of need. It was a need that class participants identified as they did their everyday jobs. These new stuffed animals were collected throughout Catoosa County at various locations, like banks, schools, churches, and individual businesses. They were distributed by firefighters, police officers, family and children services representatives, counseling agencies, nursing homes, and ambulance personnel.
The 2023 Leadership Catoosa class spokesperson Mark Pierce, principal of the CCPS From Here to Career College and Career Academy, delivered a moving retrospective summary of comments and takeaways from this year’s class participants. Some words used to describe their experiences were Impactful, Connections, Eye-Opening, Educational, Informative, and Fun.
When asked what a great slogan for Leadership Catoosa would be, the class responded with, “Learning to Lead, Learning to Serve,” “You Just Thought You Knew Catoosa County,” and “Leadership Catoosa: Get to Know Us.”
Encouraging others to take this course, participants of Leadership Catoosa 2023-2024 said, “This class builds relationships that will benefit the good of the community.”, “You will grow as a leader and learn how to give back.”, “This investment will change your view of Catoosa and what it has to offer.”, “I can't think of one reason NOT to join Leadership Catoosa!”
Chamber President and CEO Amy Jackson said, “This is an exciting day in the life of our Chamber as we fulfill Leadership Catoosa’s mission to promote business networking and community leadership development. I am grateful for the leadership of the planning committee led by Brad Denton with Flegal Insurance, along with dedicated committee members: Randall Dyer, Kristy Lawson, Marissa Brower, Sandy Matheson, Penny Mahon, Andy Johnson, Cindy Marchant, Ian O’Shea, that put these amazing days together. I look forward to September when we begin the next Leadership Catoosa class.”
The Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce is now taking nominations for participants for the Leadership Catoosa 2024 Class that will begin this September with a newly formed group of Chamber members. For more information, please contact Chamber President and CEO Amy Jackson at ajackson@catoosachamberofcommerce.com or the Leadership Catoosa Nomination Form is available online at CatoosaConnects.com/Leadership.