The inaugural class of Locate South GeorgiaLEADS presented by Electric Cities of Georgia kicked off on Thursday, August 18, at Southern Woods in Sylvester-Worth County. With 33 participants representing 21 counties across South Georgia, Locate South GeorgiaLEADS (LSGL) is an eight-month leadership experience that will develop individual leadership skills while engaging participants in discussions of regional importance around economic development, identify and influence, workforce development, and community growth that are both unique and relevant to South Georgia.
A partnership with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia, LSGL is the result of an 18-month strategic planning process looking at challenges, priorities and gaps in leadership across the region. As the largest regional leadership program in the State, South Georgia is raising the bar for leadership, economic development and civic engagement for existing leaders.
The 2016-2017 Locate South GeorgiaLEADS class is as follows:
| County | Name | Title |
| Ben Hill | Jason Dunn | Executive Director, Fitzgerald & Ben Hill Development Authority |
| Berrien | Jill Wise | Director, Nashville Main Street |
| Berrien | Hayden Hancock | Producer, Atwater & Houston Insurance Agency |
| Coffee | Mackenzie Bennett | Marketing Director, Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Authority |
| Coffee | Jeff Hennesy | Owner, Hennesy Insurance Agency |
| Colquitt | John Mark Mobley | Vice President, Mobley Gin Company |
| Colquitt | Tommie Beth Willis | President, Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce |
| Colquitt | Dug Schwalls | Director of Sales, Southern Valley |
| Crisp | Briley Edwards | Vice President/Commercial Lender, Colony Bank |
| Crisp | Anna Hurt | Owner, Crimson & Clover Boutique |
| Crisp | Terry Miller | Managing Director, Southwest Georgia Excursion Train Authority |
| Dougherty | Rob Collins | CEO, NEOS Technologies, Inc. |
| Dougherty | William Hancock | President, Webb Properties, Inc. |
| Dougherty | Mary Ligon | Owner, Mary Ligon, etc./Leadership Albany |
| Dougherty | Matt Reed | President & CEO, Georgia CEO |
| Grady | Betsy McGriff | Archway Professional, Grady County Archway Partnership, The University of Georgia |
| Lee | Lisa Davis | Vice President, Lee County Chamber of Commerce & Development Authority |
| Lee | Darrel Finnicum | Owner, Finnicum Motor Company |
| Lee | Donna Ford | K-5 Curriculum Director, Lee County Board of Education |
| Lee | Jennifer Johnston | CFO/COO, Horizon Community Solutions |
| Lowndes | Thomas Simpson | Employment Consultant, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency |
| Mitchell | Paige Gilchrist | Executive Director, Mitchell County Development Authority |
| Mitchell | Jennifer Burnam | Executive Director, Camilla Chamber of Commerce |
| Randolph | Sherri Michaels | Director of Communications & Marketing, Andrew College |
| Sumter | Barbara Grogan | Executive Director, Sumter County Payroll Development Authority |
| Sumter | Bill Harris, Jr. | Owner, Café Campesino Coffee Roastery |
| Sumter | Jem Morris | Area Manager, Georgia Power Company |
| Sumter | Richard Peck | Sergeant, Georgia State Patrol |
| Tift | Brian Atwater | Part Owner, Atwater & Houston Insurance Agency |
| Tift | Sandra Giles | Director of Rural Studies, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College |
| Worth | Kim Gilman | CEO, Phoebe Worth Medical Center |
| Worth | Karen Rackley | Executive Director, Sylvester-Worth County Economic Development Authority & Chamber of Commerce |
| Worth | Karon Willis | Supervising U.S. Probation Officer, U.S. Probation Office |
Locate South Georgia Chairman Darrell Moore, President/CEO of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority,
shares the value he hopes to see in LSGL, “Our Locate South Georgia group is grateful to have been selected to
participate in the LEADS Program by the Georgia Chamber and Fanning. The resources and support they have
provided helped us develop an unsurpassed, comprehensive leadership program. The impact on the individuals
participating in the program, and their South Georgia communities, will be transformational.”
Director of the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, Matt Bishop commends Locate South Georgia’s
innovation and investment in South Georgia and its leadership. “Locate South Georgia’s commitment to bringing together
leaders from throughout South Georgia to address common concerns and opportunities represents a positive shift in how they
think about leadership development. We are excited to be Locate South Georgia’s partner in designing and implementing this
unique regional leadership program.”
LSGL links regional site visits and issue awareness to relevant leadership development content within the framework of the
Locate South GeorgiaLEADS priorities. Emphasizing regional priorities throughout the program, each session directly links
leadership skills training to issues of critical importance to South Georgia:
Regional Identity & Influence
Includes creating a regional brand and identity for South Georgia that is recognized internally as well as externally,
enhancing both perception and influence of the region across the State.
Workforce Development
Includes the strategic alignment of public and private sectors—business, industry, and educational partners—to
address key workforce development needs and challenges; and to increase the economic viability of South Georgia.
Collective Visioning & Planning
Includes developing leaders who understand the changing South Georgia economy and culture; and recognize why it
is essential to both think and act within a global context, working collaboratively to ensure the region’s success.
Sponsors of the inaugural program include: Electric Cities of Georgia, Mitchell EMC, Georgia Power Company, Georgia
CEO, ASH Foundation of Douglas-Coffee County, One Sumter Economic Development, Inc., and Leadership Worth,
Sylvester-Worth County Chamber of Commerce.
For more information about Locate South Georgia, please visit their website at
http://www.georgiaresourcecenter.com/LocateSouthGeorgia/2/communities.html.
For more information about Locate South GeorgiaLEADS, please contact Mary Beth Bass, Executive Director, One Sumter
Economic Development Foundation, Inc., at 229.815.1669; or at marybeth@onesumter.org.
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