May 12, 2017 kicked-off a new journey for 36 individuals who graduated the Leadership Fort Bend program organized by the Central Fort Bend Chamber. For the 2017 Leadership Fort Bend Alumni class and informed leaders, this is just the beginning to serve in their communities – sharing knowledge, offering talent, volunteering – to help them thrive and grow.
The graduation ceremony and program closing retreat held at the Tremont House in Galveston was led by Leadership Fort Bend Chairs Wes Wittig, Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, and Ray Aguilar, Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land; and the Chamber’s CEO & President Regina Morales. Aguilar says, “Leadership is critical to the success of a community. Fort Bend County is in a cycle of positive growth because of the outstanding efforts of its diverse contingent of leaders”. Wittig continued, “Many of those leaders are graduates of Leadership Fort Bend, as will be many of those who lead Fort Bend County into the future”.
Before the graduates received their certificates, they enjoyed a full day of collaborative, team-building exercises and developed long-term goals for their alumni group to tackle in the coming years to help drive more community awareness and involvement.
The goal development exercises were facilitated by Rob Thompson of TruCore Business Development, who is also a Leadership Alumni of the 2016 class. The Amazing Race Galveston team-building game was headed up by 2016 Alumni and Facilitators Trey Reichert, Johnson Development; Alicen Swift, OakBend Medical Center; Lisa Moore, Child Advocates of Fort Bend; Seth Sacra, Needville Insurance; and Rene Casanova, Casanova Insurance.
Central Fort Bend Chamber is now accepting applications for the 2017-2018 Leadership program, which begins in August.
Leadership Certificate Photo Front row (left to right): Ray Aguilar, Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land; Melvin Moore, Waste Corporation of Texas, LP; Brian Valdez, Expert Collision; Brad Thompson, IBM, Corp.; Michelle Messina, Tamara Osina DDS; Suzanne Fotorny, Republic Services; Tracy Stripling, WCJC; Steve Sams, Johnson Development; Heather Hernandez, Reining Strength Therapeutic Horsemanship; Nina Rivera, NewFirst National Bank; Norma Petrosewicz, Norma Montalvo Petrosewicz, P.C.; Sean Mulligan, Nabco Entrances, Inc; NRG – WA Parish Representative; Rose Herbst, Old Republic Title; Phillip Hamman, Stephenson & Hamman, PLLC Second row (left to right): Jason Short, Texas Gun Club, LLC; Keith Swallers, Yellowstone Landscape; Barbara Sands, Sterling McCall Lexus; Brittany Cope, Tate Moerer & King, LLP; Adrianne Manrique, Central Fort Bend Chamber; Cindy Reaves, AccessHealth; Tracy Osina, Mitchell & Duff, LLC; Linda Hamman, Phil Hamman, CPA; Ali McDonald, McDonald & Wessendorff Insurance; Jared Biermann, Jones|Carter; Kat Robinson, Heritage Texas Properties; Third row (left to right): Noell Myska, Stancil Property Tax, LLC; Lea Ann Gibson, Wortham Insurance; Jimmy Cantu, Pier 36; Alice Atkins, WCJC; Irene Compean, NRG – WA Parish; Shelley Krauss, Needville IDS/Needville Education Foundation; Whitney Ables, Allen Boon Humphries Robinson, LLP; Whitney Aelmore, Si Environmental, LLC; Tariq Zafar, Alimohammad & Zafar PLLC; Bruce Campbell, Fort Bend County DA’s Office Back row (left to right): Wes Wittig, Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office; Freddy Lopez, Expert Collision; Liz Toomey, Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels; Kevin Barker, Texana Center; Bryan Engelbrecht, Engelbrecht Manufacturing; Tori Arreola, Johnson Development; Steve Hedge, NRG – WA Parish; Colleen Mayer, Literacy Council of Fort Bend; Brian Tave, Post Oak Bank; Tony DiLalla, Tree Frog Printing; David Hernandez, Chapel Roofing
“The program is designed to create an understanding of the community functions; to increase awareness of issues facing Fort Bend County and the State of Texas; and to foster healthy dialogue and exchange among the participants and county leaders,” says Morales. Morales continues, “This will provide the community with a pool of talent for future elected officials and candidates for boards, employment, volunteers and project facilitation, while building lasting relationships”.
For more information about Leadership Fort Bend or to download an application for the 2017-2018 program, visit www.cfbca.org/get_involved/leadership_fort_bend.aspx.
The Central Fort Bend Chamber is a 106 year old non-profit membership organization dedicated to creating a strong local economy where businesses can prosper. The Central Fort Bend Chamber advocates for over 1,000 local businesses led by a volunteer board of directors who are dedicated to sustaining Fort Bend County’s quality of life, and keeping our community and economy vibrant.