Thirty-six individuals from the Greater Topeka area will participate in a graduation ceremony Wednesday, May 11, at the Ramada Convention Center in the Regency East Ballroom, 420 SE Sixth Ave. The event will begin with social time at 11:30 a.m., followed by the luncheon at noon. 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 more than 1,000 alumni of the program, including the 2016 graduates. Seventy percent of the alumni members still live and contribute to the Shawnee County community. The graduation celebration will feature a keynote address on leadership delivered by Matt Pivarnik, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce and GO Topeka.
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 2016 class was chosen to represent a variety of backgrounds and a cross section of the community.
Members of the 2016 class are: Tina Dreitzler Anderson, Electronic Banking Manager, Capitol Federal Marcus Clark, Senior Pastor, Love Fellowship Church Pat Colley, Director of Operational Effectiveness, Data and Reporting, and Risk Management, se2 Danielle Cottrell, Student, Topeka High School Angela Dailey, Human Resource Director, Capitol Federal Corey Dehn, Senior Project Manager, Schwerdt Design Group, Inc. Arnold Downing Sr., Vice President of Leasing and Tenant Services, Topeka Housing Authority Keith Drinkard, Business Development Relationship Manager, INTRUST Bank Bryan Falk, Falk Architects Scarlett Fisher-Herreman, Technical Services and Collection Development Supervisor, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library Emersen Frazier, Student, Washburn Rural High School Lindsay Freeman, Community Engagement Coordinator, Advisors Excel Jason Geier, Administrative Judge, City of Topeka Trey George III, Executive Director, Topeka Housing Authority Jeremy Graber, Attorney, Foulston Siefkin, LLP Ty Hysten, Sales Executive/Employee Benefit Consultant, Century Health Solutions Katie Koupal, Area Manager of External Affairs, AT&T Abby Lear, Director, HR and Facilities, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Jessica Lehnherr, Executive Director, CASA of Shawnee County Anya Leonard, Executive Assistant, Capitol Federal Foundation Jeff Lolley, Project Manager, Bartlett & West Murray Moore, Instructor, Topeka High School Terry Neher, Senior Vice President/Corporate and Commercial Banking, U.S. Bank Shannon Nichol, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Griffith and Blair Gabriel O'Shea, Intern, Advisors Excel Morgan Padgett, Managing Director and Shareholder, CBIZ MHM, LLC Matt Parks, Fleet Mechanic Journeyman, Westar Energy Jim Ramos Jr., Marketing Consultant, WIBW-TV Margo Rangel, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, City of Topeka Alex Reilly, Vice President and Agency Principal, MB Piland Advertising & Marketing, LLC Debra Ricks, Special Projects with the Chairman of the Board, Pioneer Group Inc. Kim Savage, Executive Director, Corporate Compliance and Internal Audit, Westar Energy Nick Scott, Autonomous Maintenance Manager/Project Manager, Mars Chocolate North America Jay Simecka, Major, Shawnee County Sheriff's Office Mark Stock, Assistant Election Comissioner, Shawnee County Election Office Tamara Taylor, Communications Manager, FHLBank Topeka