Leadership Chattanooga, a 10-month program of learning, assessment, involvement, and discernment, came into being in 1984 for the specific purpose of identifying community leaders and developing their skills through familiarization with issues, opportunities, and challenges. Approximately 40 participants, who are chosen annually through a nomination process, focus on such topics as Justice and Human Rights, State Government, Revitalizing Neighborhoods, Planning and Design, Education, Civic and Political Leadership, Arts and Quality of Life, and Economic Development.
“Leadership Chattanooga was originally started by former mayor Robert Kirk Walker and Judge Neil Thomas,” relates Diane Parks, Director of Leadership and Community Development for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. “The original purpose was to identify and prepare existing and emerging leaders to be responsible decision makers, and that is very much what we are continuing to do today. We invite anyone in the community to submit nominations in February and March, and when people are nominated, I send them information on how to apply, including a four-page application and the inclusion of two references.”
Applications must be returned in April, and then a selection committee consisting of Leadership Chattanooga graduates is charged with the task of selecting a diverse group based on age, gender, occupation, and race so that it is representative of the community as a whole.
“One of the reasons for the success of the program is that we strive for that diversity among the class members,” continues Parks, a 1985 Leadership Chattanooga graduate who has worked with the Chamber for 32 years and with Leadership Chattanooga directly for the last decade. “The program begins with a retreat in August and is followed by monthly sessions from September to the following May.”
The most recent retreats have been conducted over a two-day period at Fall Creek Falls State Park, and participants get to know one another through team-building activities led by trained facilitators. One such activity is a process called Thinking, Working, and Learning Styles, through which they understand more fully how they learn and gather information. This is followed by a discussion centering on cooperation and getting along with others.
“The benefit of this is learning to work in a group and getting things done,” Parks comments. “In every aspect of life and community, you have to work with people who are different from you. The participants are also placed into teams, and each one comes up with some type of community project that builds on how well they can work with others to get things done. The retreat is the basis for a lot of the activities that come later, and the participants also go through some survival activities and decide how the group as a whole is going to handle making decisions.”
A number of projects which originated in Leadership Chattanooga have produced tangible results, including CultureFest, which has continued annually under the auspices of the Arts & Education Council, and initiatives to recruit and train volunteers in the public schools, establish a dog park downtown, assist the Children’s Advocacy Center, and work with the city forester in an effort called “Take Root” to plant trees in Chattanooga.
Those who may be interested in participating in Leadership Chattanooga reap a great return on their investment of $1,850 and find that the contacts and friendships established, the access to local and state leaders developed, and the enhanced sense of community created are invaluable to their own futures as well as that of the city. Perspectives are broadened, and lives are literally changed by the experience.
“All the people who have witnessed the transformation of our city over the last generation know that the human side and leadership that have made it happen often go unnoticed,” remarks Tennessee’s Third District Congressman, Zach Wamp (R), himself a Leadership Chattanooga graduate. “Leadership Chattanooga has contributed in a quiet way to the city’s renaissance during the same time frame and helped to make Chattanooga the dynamic and beautiful place that it is today. Two organizations have contributed greatly to the development of my leadership skills, and they are the Chattanooga Jaycees and Leadership Chattanooga. They have helped me to understand the socio-economic dynamics of the city and the whole region, including its infrastructure and what needs to be done.”
For attorney Wade Hinton of Miller & Martin, PLLC, the Leadership Chattanooga experience is meaningful in a variety of ways. “I believe it’s an honor just to be nominated,” he reasons. “That means that someone has been watching you and believes you have the ability to be a leader not just in your organization, but in this community as well. Those who participate have the privilege of getting an insider’s perspective to leadership in this community, and as a graduate, I believe I have come away from leadership Chattanooga feeling better prepared to make an even bigger impact on the community.”
Although she had been a resident of the area for several years, Patsy Hazlewood of AT&T nevertheless found Leadership Chattanooga a worthwhile endeavor. “It was really an eye opening experience,” she remarks. “The biggest benefit was the networking and meeting people from a broad spectrum of the community and having significant, in-depth conversations with them. To become a part of Leadership Chattanooga, you have to have evidenced some willingness to take on leadership roles. So any time you expose those people to a wider perspective relating to issues and opportunities it puts them in a better position to take on more leadership roles and responsibilities.”
To date, more than 750 people have graduated from Leadership Chattanooga, which has been sponsored by the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation since its inception. While hundreds of leadership programs are in existence nationwide with more than 90 across the state of Tennessee, each is somewhat different and unique to its own community. Certainly, some participants are already in leadership roles at the time of attendance, but Parks says the impact on these individuals once they graduate, serving on boards, running for elected office, or advancing within their companies, is even greater.
Chattanooga City Council member Sally Robinson notes, “Leadership Chattanooga has defined a generation of leaders who are accepting very important roles in civic, cultural, and educational life. When people with leadership capabilities come together, they encourage and inspire each other and the program gives people a new way of seeing themselves. They begin to understand that they have special talents that they may have taken for granted. When they are in a program that affirms the importance of being a leader and stepping out, I think it is an empowering experience. Many of us who have participated in Leadership Chattanooga have hopes that some day our children will have the opportunity as well. It is one of the hallmarks for the kind of community we are. We want to assure that we have a steady supply of leaders.”
In the years ahead, the role of Leadership Chattanooga is sure to become even more critical in identifying and accepting challenges and building on successes already achieved. For many participants, the awakening of awareness of the community around them has transformed their working lives.
“It is the best program I have ever gone through, hands down,” states Linda Todd of First Tennessee Bank. “I have very close friendships to this day which were begun in Leadership Chattanooga. What has evolved is the contacts I made and the confidence I received in taking leadership roles in the community. I feel I have made a contribution, and many times my mind goes back to Leadership Chattanooga. It instilled in me how important leadership is and that a good leader has to be a worker bee as well, sometimes having to follow, and also being a good listener. I learned so much that it was by far the best program I have ever participated in.”
For Ron Harr of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Leadership Chattanooga broadened a community-wide perspective. “I still remember a lot of detail and value in the program,” he remarks. “It got me thinking about the community at large and out of the narrow slice that I deal with on a daily basis. I am glad that Leadership Chattanooga is continuing and wish they could get 200 people into each class rather than 40.”
The comprehensive nature of Leadership Chattanooga, its proven methodology for the development of leadership skills, and the demonstrated benefits derived from it virtually guarantee its continued success.
“Diane does a wonderful job,” says Chamber President Tom Edd Wilson, “not only in running the program but also in the fact that lots of cities with similar programs want to come to Chattanooga to see how we have accomplished the things we have accomplished here. She serves as an ambassador and host for them while they are here, and she is able to do that because running Leadership Chattanooga gives her a grand idea of what makes our city work and what we do. The success of Leadership Chattanooga is measured in the facts that it has been in existence for a number of years and that most of the top leaders in our city are graduates.”
To learn more about Leadership Chattanooga, call the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce at (423) 756-2121 or visit online at www.chattanooga-chamber.com.