Nashville – Are you a leader in your community? Leadership Middle Tennessee is a regional leadership program founded to engage community and business leaders in the 10 county region of Middle Tennessee. The program is a series of 10 monthly day-and-a-half issues-focused sessions designed to give participants a greater understanding of the critical issues and key players in the region, motivating them to use their skills to become regionally engaged. Participating counties are Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson Counties.
Each year, a representative class of established business and community leaders is selected from the 10-county Middle Tennessee region. This year, Deborah Varallo (Davidson County), President of Varallo Public Relations, has been elected Chair of the Board of Directors. Varallo is only the fourth person to chair this regional leadership institute encompassing a 10-county area in Middle Tennessee.
Executive board members are: Dr. Paul Stumb (Wilson County), Chair-Elect, Dean of the School of Business, Cumberland University; Valerie Hunter-Kelly (Montgomery County), Secretary, Keller Williams Realty; and Gina Scott (Sumner County), Treasurer, Pinnacle Financial Partners. Seab Tuck (Williamson County), Tuck Hinton Architects is the Past Chair. Jack B. Turner (Montgomery County) is Chair Emeritus. Ex-Officio board members are Dr. David Urban (Rutherford County), Dean of Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University and Ralph Schulz (Davidson County), President/CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Leadership Middle Tennessee announced Patti James executive director of the organization.
Additional board members and committee chairs are: Bill Sites (Montgomery County), Alumni Chair, Ward Potts Jewelers; Kadi Jones (Maury County), Communications Chair, Cassidy Turley; Floyd Shechter (Davidson County), Development Chair, SmartSpace, Inc.; Brenda Payne (Sumner County), Governance Chair, Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce; Paul C. Ney (Davidson County), Program Chair, Waddey & Patterson; Gina Scott (Sumner County), Finance Chair, Pinnacle Financial Partners; Jeff Jowdy (Williamson County), Personnel Chair, Lighthouse Counsel; and Jill Ayers (Montgomery County), Selection Chair, Batson, Nolan, Pearson, Miller & Joiner.
County board members elected to the Leadership Middle Tennessee Board for Davidson County are: Cristina Allen, Caliente Consulting; Christine Bradley, Vanderbilt University; Charlie Bryan, Bryan Financial Services, Inc.; Paul Ney (previously listed); Phyllis Qualls-Brooks, Tennessee Economic Council on Women; Ralph Schulz (previously listed); Floyd Shechter, (previously listed); Connie Valentine, Arts & Business Consultant; and Deborah Varallo (previously listed).
Leadership Middle Tennessee operates through the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at MTSU. Patti James is executive director. To learn more or to become a member of the next class of leaders, visit www.leadmt.org.
