Jackson Chamber Celebrates 1000th Leadership Jackson Graduate

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is proud to celebrate the 40^th Leadership Jackson graduating class at a graduation program at Spring Arbor University on Thursday April 21st. Leadership Jackson, presented by Consumers Energy, is a prestigious professional development academy directed by the Chamber forming tomorrow’s business and community leaders.

“I’m excited, on behalf of Consumers Energy, to celebrate the commitment to leading through community engagement in our hometown of Jackson,” said presenting sponsor Consumers Energy’s Sharon Miller, Director of Strategic Talent Pipelines. Craig Hatch, Chamber President/CEO added “Leadership Jackson is one of the most influential Chamber programs offered. For 40 years this academy has positively affected all forms of leadership in Jackson County.”

This graduating class holds a unique place in Chamber history, as the program has now graduated more than one thousand leaders! After the conclusion of this semester, that number stands at 1,012. Consequently, with 27 in this semester’s graduating class, Leadership Jackson’s 1,000^th participant will stand in a symbolic way, representing the longevity, consistency, and excellence of a storied community leadership development program. The Chamber is proud to announce the 1000^th graduate, Melissa Poherence of Orthopaedic Rehab Specialists, along with classmates from the Holiday Inn, Dawn Foods, Flagstar Bank, Henry Ford Health, Harvest Solar, and many other local organizations committed to growing excellent leaders in our community.

Throughout their six-month educational journey, participants have had the remarkable opportunity to be taught and inspired by non-profit, business, government, and community leaders on topics such as communication, teamwork, personal branding, nonprofit governance, financials, government, and trauma-informed workplaces. Additionally, participants were required to take part in learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

Also of note, during the length of the entire program, participants had the opportunity to work directly with a local non-profit to plan and execute a service project addressing an opportunity/challenge as defined by the non-profit. These service projects give real world experience to each participant while simultaneously allowing the organization to address an opportunity with a talented group of leaders. This year’s benefiting non-profits were Jackson Friendly Home, Special Olympics Michigan, Grow Jackson, and College and Career Access Center. Nancy Peters-Lewis, Executive Director of the College and Career Access Center stated about the service project completed, “You all delivered (2) wonderful products in the guide itself and the beautiful video, both of which will be utilized to take us through our upcoming strategic planning session.  I cannot say enough how appreciative we are for this program and for all of you as LEADERS!  THANK YOU for the work that you have done and the great things that you will continue to do for Jackson County!”

The evening’s celebration included final presentations from each of the four service project teams as well as remarks from Consumers Energy’s Sharon Miller, participant Greg Ward, and Michael Thompson the CEO of Segue (Class of 2005) who is the 2022 Pat Carlton Leadership Jackson Alumni Award Winner.

For more information about Leadership Jackson and to learn more about becoming a beneficiary of a service group project, please contact Tim Booth at 517-782-8221 or tim@jacksonchamber.org.

The Leadership Jackson graduation is made possible by Consumers Energy and Spring Arbor University, as well as the many organizations who submit leaders to the program.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is an association of businesses and non-profits committed to strengthening their businesses and the Jackson Community. With a proud history reaching back to 1909, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce supports its members through promotion, advocacy, collaboration, networking events, and education.

2021-2022 Leadership Jackson Participants