Posted May 02, 2008

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -- The public is invited to attend the annual Community Leadership Luncheon on May 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Chattanoogan Hotel.

The event honors the 40 graduates of the 2008 Leadership Chattanooga class.

Highlighting the luncheon will be the presentation of five community projects coordinated by the class: Take Your Kids to Play Day, Freeways to Exercise, Take Root, Book-it for Howard and Mission 841.

The program will also include reflections on the Leadership Chattanooga experience by class members Alan Cooper of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Erik Gray of Unum.

Leadership Chattanooga is presented by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation.

“Leadership Chattanooga is a 10-month program designed to develop leadership skills in outstanding early- or mid-career professionals,” said Diane Parks, director of leadership and community development for the Chamber. “The program is informative, challenging and motivational, providing interaction with the community’s top leadership, familiarity with key agencies and institutions and community service team projects.”

The Take Your Kids to Play Day project promoted outdoor activities for children through climbing, canoeing, biking and other activities demonstrated on April 12 at Coolidge Park. The purpose was to showcase Chattanooga’s outdoor recreational opportunities and encourage parents to introduce their children to a range of outdoor activities.

Another Leadership class project -- Freeways to Exercise --  launched a web site that offers resources, ideas and inspiration to encourage physical activity for children and their families. The web site at www.freeways2.bikechattanooga.org provides tips to keep children active, links to Chattanooga-area physical activity opportunities and articles about childhood obesity.

Take Root encourages the planting of a large number of trees downtown with the goal of beautifying the city, cooling its urban core and improving air quality. The project was launched on March 7 with the ceremonial planting of a tree on the Battle Academy campus at the corner of Market Street and Main Street.

Leadership class members working on the Book-it for Howard project led a book drive to collect much-needed reading materials for Howard School of Academics. The books donated through the campaign ranged from fiction to history.

The Mission 841 project is a public awareness campaign to increase knowledge of child abuse issues in Chattanooga and the services available at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hamilton County.

This year’s Leadership Chattanooga graduates are: Paul Belk, EPB Telecom; J. B. Bennett, Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams, P.C.; Robin Bennett, Junior League of Chattanooga/ First Tennessee; Kari Blakney, Chattanooga Housing Authority; Paul Broyles, Purchasing Power, LLC; Amanda Buchanan, Flying B Development;

Millie Callaway, Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development; Alan Cooper, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; Nina Coppinger, Loftis Middle School; Deby Davis, Hamilton County Government; Kasey Poole Decosimo, Hamilton County Health Department; Kathryn DeNovo, WhyKnow Abstinence Education;

Justin Dumsday, Artech Design Group; Russell Elliott, Luken Holdings, Inc.; Ben Friberg, Heritage Funeral Home; Kathie Fulgham, Community Volunteer/Writer; Rafe Goldbach, Smart Furniture, Inc.; Erik Gray, Unum; Michael Griffin, First Tennessee; Paul Grove, WTCI-TV (PBS); Janis Hashe, Writer; Jennifer Hoff, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga;

Helen Johnson, CreateHere; Brian Jones, Orange Grove Center; Ryan Keel, EPB; Scott Kornblum, Southern Adventist University; Kelly Lopez, CARTA; Tracy McCrory, Tennessee Valley Authority; Aaron Mills, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; Greg Newsom, Corporate Express; Anita Polk-Conley, Chattanooga State Technical Community College;

Chantelle Roberson, Miller & Martin, PLLC; Thomas Rusk, Discovery Point Child Development Center; Rosemary Seitz, Community Impact of Chattanooga, Inc.; Mandy Senn, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce; Charlie Stamps, Chattanooga Goodwill Industries, Inc.; Melissa Taylor,  Regional Planning Agency; Mitzi Ward, Boehm Birth Defects Center;

Greg Willett, Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, PC; Rick Wood, The Trust for Public Land.

Tickets for the luncheon are $40 per person and $400 for a table of eight. For reservations contact Christie Kelly at ckelly@chattanoogachamber.com or 423-763-4366.