Jun. 28—MOULTRIE, Ga. — Twenty professional business leaders recently completed the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Colquitt County program.

A graduation ceremony was held on Monday, June 13, at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce. Caitlyn Hatcher, Chamber Program Services Director, welcomed everyone followed by the invocation given by class participant, Brandon Whitaker.

Tommie Beth Willis, President of the Chamber of Commerce shared a word of leadership encouragement and gave a recap to the graduating sessions.

Leadership speeches were presented by Kevin Ellis, Olivia Griffin, Keyondria Harris, and Jake Mobley prior to the presentation of graduation certificates. Angela Hobby completed the program with closing remarks of the importance of leadership in our community.

The graduation ceremony concluded the five-month course where local professionals experienced five hands-on seminars and exploration days, according to a press release from the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce. The class kicked off with the Robert M. Duggan Day of Leadership with UGA J.W. Fanning Institute. The participants got a "behind the scenes" look at the city and county governments, nonprofits and social service programs, education, medical and healthcare, along with agricultural farm tours.

The class ended with the Fanning Institute facilitating a Leading Change and Next Step session. Leadership skills and team building exercises were incorporated throughout the program.

The Leadership Colquitt County class actively participates in a community project each year, the chamber said. This class chose to create awareness of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This program provides a free book each month to children from newborn to age 5. The class held a fundraiser to sponsor Colquitt County children for the book program and raised $1,050 in donations.

LCC is a project of the chamber's Workforce Development Committee. It is modeled after the Leadership Georgia program that has been successful in identifying state and national businesses and business leaders for decades, according to the chamber's press release.

Leadership Colquitt County was founded by Billy Fallin in the 1980s, the press release said.

Fallin, a participant in the Leadership Georgia program, said, "I thought the program was beneficial for me and it seemed only right to incorporate a program of the same caliber into our community."

Applicants for the program were nominated by employers, clubs, and churches for their potential in leadership. The program strives to provide adults the opportunity to discover the diversity of businesses and opportunities in Colquitt County.

The main goal of the Leadership Colquitt County program is to expose the participants to the wealth of resources available in Colquitt County and to give them an appreciation for their community along with equipping them with stronger leadership skills, the chamber said.

The participants of the Class of 2022 included Meg Bishop of Colquitt County School District, Rebecca Blalock of SRTC, Michelle Cope of The Yellow Elephant, Casey Dudley of Colquitt County School District, Kevin Ellis of MCC Library System, Jessi Flowers of Mattco Realtors, Tiffany Fox of SRTC, Olivia Griffin of Sunbelt Ag Expo, Keyondria Harris of SRTC, Stephanie Henderson of Ameris Bank, Angela Hobby of Colquitt County School District, Ann Hoffman of Colony Bank, Jennifer Mitchell of PCOM, Jake Mobley of Ameris Bank, Gatlyn Peacock of Chick-fil-A, Dale Rickett of Colquitt County Educational Foundation, Lorenda Smith of First National Bank of Moultrie, Reginald Sweet of Hearts for Families, Xzavier Ward of Colquitt County School District, and Brandon Whitaker of Colquitt Regional Medical Center Pharmacy.