| Leadership Marshall 2009 • Annual program off to great start with retreat By AMY S. HEATON Contributing Writer  | Photos by Barry Burleson | Successful session
Showing their appreciation during a session, led
by Martha Jackson Banks (below), are (from left) Shawn McCarley, Maggie
Holmes and Robert Pearson. |
Twenty-one
business and community leaders from Marshall County gathered at
Kirkwood Golf Course and Cottages for a two-day retreat January 22-23
to kick off the 2009 Leadership Marshall Class.
Leadership
Marshall is an intensive six-month program developed as a result of the
Marshall County Strategic Plan and coordinated by the Holly Springs
Chamber of Commerce, Byhalia Area Chamber of Commerce, MSU Extension
Service and Marshall County Board of Supervisors. The ultimate goal of
Leadership Marshall is to provide Marshall County with lifelong leaders
with the skills and commitment to lead our county into the future. Following
a hot breakfast sponsored by First State Bank, participants boarded a
bus provided by Marshall County School District and began a tour of
Marshall County. The group enjoyed seeing beautiful Chewalla Lake and
the Marshall County countryside as Larry Hall, county administrator,
provided information about past, present, and future developments in
the county. Participants were welcomed for a rest
stop at the Potts Camp Town Hall and learned about the heritage of the
Hill Country Blues Picnic held annually there. Eddie
Malone, along with Lisa Cole, Ms. Martha, and Joan Fitch, prepared a
mouth-watering lunch for the participants at Fitch Farms/Galena
Plantation with food items donated by Carlisle’s Big Star, Holly
Springs Piggly Wiggly and Cousins’ Shell. Joan Fitch presented a
historical tour of the lodge and original home of Nathan Bedford
Forrest. From there, the tour highlighted Cedar
Oaks Plantation, Moore’s Plantation, and the Watson and Warsaw
communities before arriving in Byhalia. Mayor Scooter Dempsey
encouraged the participants in their leadership efforts as they
explored the historic Byhalia Area Chamber of Commerce. The
bus proceeded through Barton and Mount Pleasant to the Strawberry
Plains Audubon Center, where the class stopped to enjoy the natural
beauty of our area. For the final stop in Holly
Springs, Mayor Andre’ DeBerry greeted the 2009 Leadership Marshall
Class and provided an overview of the city. Stephanie Movre, executive
director of the Holly Springs Bureau of Tourism and Recreation, and Amy
S. Heaton, executive director of the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce,
provided a guided tour of Holly Springs’ businesses and attractions. The
participants returned to Kirkwood to learn about effective time
management in a presentation by Linda
Mitchell, MSU
Extension professor, 4-H Youth Development. Prioritizing and focus were
noted to be the keys to successful time management. A
three-course meal was sponsored by Marshall County Industrial
Development Authority, and executive director Bill Mobley joined the
group to talk about plans for Marshall County. Social
hour began at 7 p.m. and included a surprisingly competitive game of
dominoes, karoaoke by Movre, and an impromptu late night trip to visit
Holly Springs’ own Graceland Too!  | Leadership Marshall 2009
In
front (from left) are Bobby Clayton, Casey Hillmer, Shawn McCarley,
Harvey Payne, Alton Merchant, Hunter Hollingsworth; middle row (from
left) are Demetria Miller, Temaiko Odum, Maggie Holmes, Carolyn Burrow,
Mary Giglio, Ora Hubbard; standing (from left) are Cynthia Brewer, Rod
Childers, George Kahrs, Yakisha Thompson, Robert W. Pearson, Nancy
Richmond, Pamela Lewis, Felicia Autry and Chris Cothern. |
The second
day of the retreat, First State Bank representatives, including
president Sam McClatchy and vice president Jim Crell, joined the group
for breakfast sponsored by their organization. Martha Jackson Banks,
MSU Extension professor, 4-H youth development, presented the morning
session on “Managing Groups for Results.” Following
lunch sponsored by Northcentral Electric, Banks presented the second
half of her session, educating the participants for “Finding Leaders
Within.” Leadership Marshall alumni joined this
year’s class in the late afternoon to focus on community group
projects. Chance McDavid informed the class about First Impressions, an
organization that helps communities assess and identify their assets.
Kerry Reid, Byhalia Middle School principal, brought a group of
students from Byhalia Middle School to discuss a youth leadership
program. Alumni and the 2009 class would facilitate these projects as
part of the Leadership Marshall curriculum. “Janet
(Jolley), Amy (Heaton), Larry (Hall) and I are excited to work with the
fifth Class for Leadership Marshall,” Sawyer said. “This program is one
that can change attitudes, lives and perspective. A participant will
get out of it what they put into it. We can’t monitor that part, we
just provide the venue. “We truly appreciate the
media, sponsorships, the employers and the participants themselves.
Without this support, the Leadership Marshall would not be
possible. It could grow and touch many stakeholders in Marshall
County, making a positive impact. We must focus on the positives
Marshall County has to offer.” The first monthly
meeting of the Leadership Marshall Class of 2009 will be Thursday, Feb.
19, at the Collins-Hurdle VFW Post in Holly Springs. Lunch will be
provided by the VFW and A2Z Sign and Print Shoppe.
|
 
 



|