Community leaders recognized at LFS event
by June 3, 2011 3:40 pm 150 views
story and photos by Joel Rafkin
[email protected]
Members of the 2011 Leadership Fort Smith graduating class, 24 in all, were handed their diplomas Thursday night at Golden Living headquarters.The evening featured a buffet style dinner, beverages and music by the Don Bailey Jazz Trio. About 120 people were in attendance.
Leadership Fort Smith is a 10-month curriculum designed to equip people to be better leaders said Barbara Harvel, Director of LFS. The program begins in August with a communication workshop and two-day retreat. The class then meets approximately once a month for a full day and learns about the history of area leadership, local government, the role of the media, law enforcement, the judicial process, economic development, health and human services, state government nd education. The classes are conducted by leaders within their respected fields.
The program is limited to 25 people who must have lived or worked in Fort Smith for at least a year. Tuition is $1,500 with the attendee expected to pay $250 out of pocket while the remainder is often covered by the person’s employer or through scholarships from the alumni association or other benefactors, said LFS Executive Director Barbara Harvel.
The goal of the program is to build relationships among leaders in the region, train people to become more effective leaders, cultivate a climate conducive to the development of future leaders and inspire people to become involved in issues that affect the community.
"If you think you know your community; after you go through this program, you may decide you didn’t know as much as you thought," Harvel said.
In addition to the 24 graduates, awards were presented to outstanding community leaders in six key disciplines plus an overall community leadership award called the Jack White Community Leadership Award.
The LFS Community Leadership Awards recipients are:
• William H. "Bill" Hanna — Business and Industry
• Cathy Williams — Education
• Col. Thomas I. Anderson — Government
• Dr. John Hoffman — Healthcare
• Jennifer Goodson — Non-profit
• The Rev. Dr. Jeff Crawford — Religion
• Philip H. Merry, Jr. — Jack White Community Leadership Award
Members of the 2011 LFS class:
Nicki Babb
Terry Bigler
Jennifer Boulden
Michelle Renée Cernak
Arline Coatney
Dustin Dooly
Jonathan Fry
Richard Harris
Tim Hearn
Olan James
Diana Jones
Ginni McDonald
Jason Morland
Patricia Morris
Mike Pate
Martha Pendleton
Tina Rodgers
Lorrie Runion
Mark Shackelford
Susan Steffens
Travis Teague
Anne Thomas
Linda Ward
Linda Williams
