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Thirty-seven individuals from the Greater Topeka area will participate in a graduation ceremony tomorrow, Wednesday, May 20, at the Ramada Convention Center in the Regency East Ballroom, 420 SE Sixth Ave. Leadership Greater Topeka, a program of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce since 1984, identifies outstanding potential leaders from various components of the community and teaches participants how to lead in a community setting. There are 972 alumni of the program, including the 2015 graduates. Seventy percent of the alumni members still live and contribute to the Shawnee County community.
Tomorrow’s graduation celebration will feature a keynote address on leadership delivered by Bruce Steinbrock, assistant athletic director for development at the Washburn University Foundation and a four-time recipient of the Kansas Sportscaster of the Year title. Marsha Sheahan, retired vice president public relations for the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce and the founder of Leadership Greater Topeka, will share her reflections on the program.
The curriculum for the Leadership Greater Topeka program includes a combination of speakers, lessons, activities, small group discussions, community projects and tours. Class members identify adaptive ways of addressing community issues and situations and determine how they can influence decisions about community concerns.
The 2015 class was chosen from more than 200 nominees representing a variety of backgrounds and a cross section of the community.
Members of the 2015 class are:
- Brandon Aldridge, Agent/Owner, Brandon Aldridge Insurance Agency-State Farm
- Amber Beckley, D.C., Chiropractor/Owner, Beckley Chiropractic Clinic
- Seth Brackman, Associate Litigation Counsel, Kansas State Board of Healing Arts
- Tanya Brunner, Executive Director, Oral Health Kansas, Inc.
- Neil Buono, Pastor, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
- Rebecca Collins, Human Resources Generalist, Bartlett & West
- Jennifer Cross, Sergeant, School Resource Officer Unit, Topeka Police Department
- Matthew Dinkel, Senior Actuarial Associate, Security Benefit
- Juanita Erickson, General Director of Elementary Education, Topeka Public Schools
- Brandon Evans, At Risk Behavior Intervention Para-Professional, USD 501, Williams Science & Fine Art Magnet School
- Abel Frederic, Jr., Director of Community Impact, United Way of Greater Topeka
- David Harris, Vice President- Director of Institutional Sales, FHLBank Topeka
- Lynette Hudson, Agent/Owner, Lynette Hudson, State Farm
- Herman T. Jones, Sheriff, Shawnee County Sheriff's Office
- Brandon Kauffman, Chief Fiscal Officer, City of Topeka
- Misty Kruger, Public Information Officer, Shawnee County Health Agency
- Melissa Lackey, Vice President, Commercial Relationship Manager, U.S. Bank
- Jay Loschke, AVP/ Commercial Lender, Equity Bank
- Mary Martell, Director of Research Services, Stormont-Vail HealthCare
- Ann Ludwig Matthews, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, Auburn Washburn USD 437
- Stephanie McCaleb, Business Development Manager, Hill's Pet Nutrition
- Kyle Mead, Vice President & Chief Examining Attorney/ Title Manager, Lawyers Title of Topeka, Inc.
- Candis Meerpohl, 4-H Youth Development Agent, K-State Research & Extension-Shawnee County
- Adrienne Olejnik, Director, Rossville Community Library
- William Overbey, CEO, Kansas Rehabilitation Hospital
- Jennifer Owen, Fast Forward Manager, Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce
- Michael Perkins, Digital Services Supervisor & Web Administrator, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
- Richard Raimond, Associate Attorney, Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds & Palmer, LLP
- Michaela Saunders, Web Editor, Washburn University
- Jacob Schmidtlein, Supervisor, Strathman Sales
- Sarah Shute, First Vice President, Retail Banking Operations Officer, Capitol Federal Savings
- Zachary Snethen, Project Manager, HTK Architects
- Emma Starkey, Communications Coordinator, Heartland Visioning
- Angelene Strecker, Director, Institutional Relations, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas
- Alan Streit, General Counsel, Kansas Turnpike Authority
- Steve Vetsch, Regional Director, Power Delivery, Westar Energy
- Delmar White, Senior Pastor, New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church/Grief Support Specialist, Midland Care