IMPACT ENGAGEMENT INTEGRITY
Marshall County Leadership Challenge
P.O. Box 222
Guntersville, AL 35976
ph: 256-302-1989
mclcalab
"Through my participation in MCLC I was able to learn a great deal about the inner workings of our community. Seeing first-hand the link between different organizations with different responsibilities working for the common good of our community was most impressive."
Brett Stanton, Superintendent, Guntersville City Schools
Class of 2016
"Participation in the Marshall County Leadership Challenge has been an eye-opening experience for me. Not only did it provide a clearer understanding of the many intricacies that keep Marshall County moving forward, it provided me the opportunity to "make a difference" in our community through our class project."
Annette Clayton
Marshall County DA's Office
Class of 2015
"The instant bond that our class formed with one another will always be a memorable moment to me. I feel like we all went from being acquaintances and/or friends with each other to becoming somewhat of a family together. My classmates are each unique in their own individual ways and together we all have attributes to contribute and strengthen our Community."
Judy Rhea
Class of 2012
"I would have to say my most memorable moment from this leadership experience was when our class was sitting in the little country church in the Historic Village in Arab singing from the hymnal while our guide played the piano. Very touching moment for me to look around and see each and every classmate participating and singing along. It was one of those moments where you realize you are truly part of something great."
Penni Windsor
Marshall County Sheriffs Department
Class of 2012
“Marshall County Leadership Challenge presents a wonderful opportunity for citizens of the County to find the common thread that is woven through all of us without diminishing the uniqueness that defines us.
As a group working together we can accomplish much more than as individuals or small communities. We are blessed with so much and cooperating together can accomplish much.”
Grant DeMuth
City of Guntersville Economic Development
MCLC Class of 2009
“I have had 3 employees go thru the MCLC program and it has been invaluable for networking, local information and common sense approach to community leadership. Each one of them thanked me for allowing them the time off to attend the activities and said it was extremely helpful and informative. I highly recommend MCLC to any employer who wants to empower their employees, build their confidence, and get them involved in local activities.”
Terry Scott
CEO Factory Connection LLC
MCLC Class of 2005
"MCLC was a very rewarding program for me. Anyone who has an interest in Marshall County should participate in the program if they have the opportunity."
Robert L. Hembree, Jr.
MCLC Class of 1994
"MCLC is an outstanding opportunity to develop relationships with a cross-section of Marshall County's leaders and up-and-coming leaders. MCLC helped me to have a better understanding of my strengths as a leader in the community and how I can contribute to build a better community in the various sectors of the county."
Morri Yancy, President, Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce
Class of 2016
“The Marshall County Leadership Challenge has given me a new perspective of Marshall County living. I have seen a new side of business, industry, tourism, and the people who live and work here. I have watched and participated as leaders from all parts of Marshall County meet together for the greater good of the county all who live here. Those class members who have shared this experience with me are of the highest caliber and represent the best of Marshall County and the leadership of the future. This class experience has given me great confidence in our counties future and encourages me to stay involved in making Marshall County a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Jerry Cofield
Albertville Airport
MCLC CLass of 2009
"As an Alumni of Marshall County Leadership Challenge, the relationships that I developed and the knowledge that I gained have enabled me to be a better public servant and appreciate the hard work of many that contribute to the greatness of Marshall County."
Stacie Jenkins
M.C. Juvenile Probation
MCLC Class of 2007
"MCLC gave me the opportunity to see how every aspect of our county and cities work day to day. We are very blessed to have the city and county organizations that we do. From government, to education and healthcare to travel and economic development. They all go hand in hand and to see how all of them are woven together is a fun and eye opening experience."
Leslie Clines
MC Economic Development
Class of 2015
"As a relatively new pastor in Marshall County, I found this experience to be incredibly enriching and eye opening. So often, we take for granted the support systems in the background that make life pleasant. Thanks to Marshall County Leadership Challenge for bringing them to light!"
Pastor Steve West, Arab First United Methodist Church
Class of 2016
“I have truly enjoyed being a part of the Marshall County Leadership challenge class this year. In my job, I have the opportunity to meet many people and learn a lot about Albertville and Marshall County. MCLC introduced me to things I did not know about and allowed me to think outside of my normal “box”. My classmates are all very different, but those differences worked to make this a great group of people! MCLC is a great program and hope that many more people will get to experience it for many more years.”
Jennifer Palmer
Albertville Chamber of Commerce
MCLC Class of 2009
“Apart from the invaluable learning and networking experience, the MCLC program ignited a spark in me not only to contribute more in my own city, but also to bridge the gap between our individual communities to work as a whole. This program gave me the platform and inspiration to become a more effective leader and attempt to make Marshall County the best it can be.”Andrea C. Oliver, CFRE | Director
The Foundation for Marshall Medical Centers
Class of 2010
"I am a graduate of the 1994-1995 MCLC class. This experience was great! I learned so much about economic development and city/county government and healthcare and education and law enforcement (to name a few) in Marshall County. The class experiences opened my eyes to the wonderful resources in Marshall County. I also met many people throughout the year that otherwise I would not have had the opportunity. It is an experience that I wish every adult in Marshall County could take advantage of this opportunity and one that I wish was a requirement for anyone considering running for an elected office. This experience instills pride for your home county, it promotes professional, collaborate relationships that cross city lines, and provides foundation for new friendship. I encourage others to seriously consider this opportunity!"
Rhonda Osborne, CEO, Hospice of Marshall County
Class of 1995
MCLC Works To Make County A Better Place To Live
Dianne Prestridge is a Realtor for Century 21. She is a retired teacher from Arab High School and a former member of the Arab City Council.
You would think that someone who has lived in Marshall County for 50-plus years would know just about everything there is to know about the area.
Wrong!
I have spent the past nine months being educated as part of the Marshall County Leadership Challenge Class of 2010. What an experience this has been - one that I highly recommend to anyone interested.
The leadership program provides an opportunity to interact with leaders and future leaders of Marshall County.
The 25 members of our group originate from each of the four cities and the county at large. We are from different careers, backgrounds and vary greatly in age. But throughout the year, we have found many common threads while we enjoy the uniqueness each individual brings to the program.
As we've worked together on class projects and participated in monthly programs, we are not individuals from Arab, Albertville, Boaz, Guntersville or Marshall County - we are a whole working toward the same goals, networking and sharing ideas.
Too often our cities and county come together only in times of crisis and are always good to step up when needed, but we must realize that by working together we can accomplish much more than we can as individuals or small communities.
When applying for this program, we were asked not only what we perceived as positive aspects of Marshall County, but also what we felt were some pressing problems facing the county. I listed the lack of cooperative effort in achieving large goals.
For many years, the four cities and county have often been in competition with each other (in more ways than football), and friendly competition is to be expected. However, more areawide effort is often necessary to achieve larger, more costly goals that would be beneficial to all of us.
Programs such as MCLC enhance this idea and provide the experience of working together and thinking "outside the box" and outside city boundaries. The cooperation, friendship and bonding within our group has been a positive experience and given us all an appreciation for each other and our county as a whole.
We are blessed with a great quality of life in this area, outstanding schools and medical facilities, natural beauty with our lakes and mountains and a majority of good, honest hard-working people who are friendly and welcoming and want to keep our area attractive, productive and growing.
There is such a great difference in knowing about something and in experiencing it first-hand, and this program provides experiences. The MCLC program meets once a month for nine months. After the orientation program, other monthly programs focus on these areas: tourism, law enforcement, health and social services, education, media, state government, economic development and local government.
In June, participants who have met all the requirements will graduate as members of the MCLC Class of 2010. Since the program was founded in 1992 to prepare and build leadership resources within the county, more than 400 have graduated and are proud MCLC alumni.
As a group, we have met with outstanding county leaders from all professions.
We learned about law enforcement by touring the county jail, training facilities and viewing a drug enforcement presentation. The tourism day provided a behind-the-scenes look at the Whole Backstage, Arab's Historic Park, the Guntersville Museum, Jules Berta Winery and a tour of Cathedral Caverns.
The health and social services program reinforced how fortunate we are to have such outstanding medical facilities through both Marshall Medical Centers and their outpatient facilities. Touring these facilities made us realize that top-notch healthcare services are available to all residents as well as social services including Hospice of Marshall County and Shepherd's Cove, one of only three such facilities in the state. We came away with a new appreciation for these services.
As a retired teacher, I especially enjoyed the education program. We were fortunate to tour most of the city and county schools and experience innovations in education as our group did a hands-on demonstration of how food is digested through an AMSTI project kit and saw how technology enhances learning in many areas.
Media day afforded the opportunity to listen to experts from TV, radio and the press as well as tour some of their facilities. In April, we traveled to Montgomery for an exciting tour of the state capitol, legislative chambers and Alabama Supreme Court building.
This month's program will be economic development with a tour of several industrial sites in the county. The programs are diverse, well planned and informative.
Each class is required to have a class project. Our project was assisting with the 5K Run for Hospice of Marshall County and providing a banner for that organization. Another requirement is that each member must participate in four community events during the year involving local government, community projects, education and chamber of commerce functions.
MCLC is a hands-on, get involved and participate program. It is intense and high energy, often tiring on those monthly trips that last from early morning to late evening, but well worth the effort.
The experiences shared with the 24 classmates I now consider life-long friends will never be forgotten and have given me a new appreciation of our county and great hope for the future. I have been introduced to things I did not know about and have seen a new side of business, tourism, education, law enforcement, health care and the people of Marshall County who make this such a great place to live.
The experiences I've had in this program encourage me to stay involved in making Marshall County a better place to live, work and raise a family.Dianne Prestridge
Arab Tribune article, Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Marshall County Leadership Challenge
P.O. Box 222
Guntersville, AL 35976
ph: 256-302-1989
mclcalab