Locate South GeorgiaLEADS welcomes inaugural class

ALBANY — The inaugural class of a new eight-month leadership development program with participants from 21 Georgia counties gets under way Thursday when 33 participants gather to launch Locate South GeorgiaLEADS at Southern Woods in Sylvester.

The program, which was developed by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia, is designed to develop individual leadership skills while also exposing participants to issues impacting South Georgia.

Those attending the leadership program will engage in discussions about economic development, identity and influence, work force development and community growth, while also building strong bonds with others in the region.

“The Locate South GeorgiaLEADS initiative is bringing together leaders from the 21-county Locate South Georgia area to learn more about economic development and showcasing it through the regionalism approach,” said Justin Strickland, vice chair of Locate South Georgia and president and CEO of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission. “I’m proud that Locate South Georgia is leading this charge, along with some great regional sponsors, to bring the program, and with it staff from the J.W. Fanning Institute, to develop key leaders for South Georgia.”

Locate South Georgia is a collective of Southwest Georgia communities that have pooled their resources to help promote South Georgia as a whole and attract better business opportunities to the region. The LSGL program is an important step in helping to build strong bonds among the communities that make up the region while also providing important leadership skills that will help the individual communities and the region continue to grow.

“The resources and support (the Georgia Chamber and the J.W. Fanning Institute) have provided and helped us develop an unsurpassed, comprehensive leadership program,” Locate South Georgia Chairman and Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority President and CEO Darrell Moore said in a news release. “The impact on the individuals participating in the program, and their South Georgia communities, will be transformational.”

Dougherty County has four participants in the inaugural class, including Leadership Albany’s Mary Ligon, NEOS Technologies CEO Rob Collins, Georgia CEO President and CEO Matt Reed, and Webb Properties President William Hancock, who said he’s excited to be including in the new program.

“I’m glad to be part of what appears to be a great group of forward-thinking people throughout the region,” Hancock said. “It’s a good place to listen to ideas and to be heard.

“(We’ll be able to) form relationships with regional community leaders, understand the strengths and weaknesses our region shares, and establish common goals to advocate money and policy from our elected leaders in Atlanta. The J.W. Fanning Institute of the University of Georgia does an excellent job understanding people and advancing collaboration. It’s an honor to be associated with this organization.”

Lee County also has four representatives attending the leadership training, including Lee County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority Vice President Lisa Davis, Finnicum Motor Company Owner Darrel Finnicum, Lee County Board of Education K-5 Curriculum Director Donna Ford, and Horizon Community Solutions CFO and COO Jennifer Johnston, who shared Hancock’s enthusiasm.

“I’m excited and honored to be a part of the inaugural class of Locate South GeorgiaLEADS,” Johnston said. “I look forward to working with other leaders across South Georgia to identify concerns and opportunities to better our region. The leadership training we all will receive will be valuable and will carry forward into our own jobs and community engagement.”

A third metro Albany county, Worth, has three representatives: Kim Gilman, CEO, Phoebe Worth Medical Center; Karen Rackley, executive director, Sylvester-Worth County Economic Development Authority & Chamber of Commerce; and Karon Willis, supervising U.S. probation officer, U.S. Probation Office.

The new leadership program is sponsored by Electric Cities of Georgia, Mitchell EMC, Georgia Power, Georgia CEO, ASH Foundation of Douglas-Coffee County, One Sumter Economic Development Inc., and Leadership Worth.

For more information about Locate South GeorgiaLEADS, contact Mary Beth Bass, executive director of One Sumter Economic Development Foundation Inc., at (229) 815-1669 or at [email protected].