Registration is underway for this year鈥檚 Macon County Chamber of Commerce leadership class.
鈥淧eople benefit from the class for different reasons,鈥 said Chamber Executive Director Jennifer Hardman. 鈥淪ome businesses use it for newcomers into their businesses. It helps to give them a little more knowledge about the area. It also gives insight into how other leaders work within the community. People who are new to our area use the class to learn more about Macon County as well.鈥
Hardman said people from all walks of life can benefit from the class.
鈥淲e have several classes set aside for once a month for half a day except for the day we visit the state capitol,鈥 said Hardman. 鈥淭hey will learn about agriculture, education, the arts, local history, state government, local government, health care and history here in Macon County.鈥
Hardman says the classes take tours as part of the learning experience.
鈥淲e will take tours of the area, and area businesses, and have a speaker with the aid of PowerPoint,鈥 said Hardman. 鈥淢ost of the time, we are going on tours to different locations. I lived here for 25 years before I went through my first leadership class. I couldn鈥檛 believe how much I didn鈥檛 know about Macon County. Living here, you sometimes take some things for granted so you just don鈥檛 learn about it for one reason or the other.鈥
For example, Hardman said many county residents are unaware of the health care options available to them.
Former class member Laura Merlo says she enjoyed the experience.
鈥淚 was sponsored by Vision 2020 Inc. to attend,鈥 said Merlo. 鈥淭his experience not only introduced me to a wonderful group of classmates and their contributions to our community but what/who makes Macon County. We learned about economic development, growth, history, government, education, agriculture and more. I always recommend others to experience the opportunity.鈥
Kally Curtis Efros also shared her experience.
鈥淚 am class of 2023. I loved it,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t helped me understand my community and the resources we have and meeting incredible people.鈥
Tiffany Dawn Cooper said she uses what she learned.
鈥淚 use it to do better,鈥 said Cooper. 鈥淚t helped me to become better informed so that maybe I might help answer questions if they come up for the nonprofit I work closely with.鈥
Mary Braswell says she uses knowledge gained from the classes every day.
鈥淚t helped build community relations,鈥 said Braswell. 鈥淚t gave me a better understanding of how things work in our county. I was educated on local and state government. On top of all of that, it was fun.鈥
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.