Leadership Cherokee Graduates 26th Class

Staff Report

Leadership Cherokee, a program offered by the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, graduated its 26th Anniversary Class last week.

With the completion of this year’s class, which was celebrated during a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 12, the alumni count now exceeds 550 graduates.

Members of the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2014 chose three of their peers to receive special annual recognitions.

• The Cristal Stancil Leadership Award honorees were John Barker, Cherokee Delphi Global Technology, and Shannon Wallace, district attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit.
• The Bob Frongillo Magic Spark Plug Award was presented to Neely Motiejunas of Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency.
• Outgoing 2013-14 Leadership Cherokee Chair Susan Filiberto was recognized by Incoming Chair Jeff Mitchell of South State Bank.

The Leadership Cherokee program kicked off with a retreat where the group participated in both indoor and outdoor team building exercises that enabled them to learn not only about each other, but themselves through a look at personality types and communication styles.

Over the course of the nine month period, Leadership Cherokee exposed the group of existing and emerging leaders to a broad range of sessions that focused on topics such as economic development, infrastructure, government, justice, arts, education, recreation, tourism, public safety, healthcare and social/human services.

The nomination deadline for the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2015 is Oct. 1st.

For information on the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2015, contact the Chamber office at 770-345-0400 or visit its website.

(Photo: Graduates of the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2014: Front Row (l to r): Karen Fegely, Bethesda Community Clinic; Lori Bray, Allstate Insurance-The Bray Agency; John Barker, Delphi Global Technology; Hanna Pintozzi, American Book Company; Charity Kemp, Cherokee County Department of Family & Children Services; Stacy Lind, WellStar Health System; Shannon Wallace, Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office; Kelley Johnson, Reinhardt University; Matthew Thomas, city of Canton; Cheryl Ruffer, Give a Kid a Chance; Neely Motiejunas, Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency. Second Row (l to r): Michele Beal, March of Dimes; Jason Lingerfelt, Attorney at Law; Matt Menerey, Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC; Vic Knight, Waste Management; Wesley Pals, Goshen Valley Boys Ranch; Rick Steiner, Rick Steiner & Associates; Brian Stockton, city of Woodstock; Anne Dropp, Kaiser Permanente. Credit: Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce)