Leadership Plano Class 33, “the BEST class,” as is the traditional claim, met early on the morning of September 19 at the Plano Chamber of Commerce to begin a journey of discovery about their city and themselves.
This first gathering was a weekend retreat to nature-enveloped Bridgeport Camp & Conference Center, where they learned about leadership styles, personality traits, opportunities for service, and more. They will use this information over the next nine months as they are immersed in all things Plano at day-long meetings once a month.
Topics and field trips will cover nearly every aspect of the community including education, area government, local business and economic development, health and human services, the criminal justice system, the arts, and nonprofit organizations. These new leaders will emerge ready to put their new knowledge and skills to work for their community.
As with each class before them, Leadership Plano Class 33 will decide on a class project to be completed by the end of their program that will benefit a charity or organization.
Among the many efforts, previous classes have installed new landscaping at Emily’s Place, a transformational housing ministry for women and children who have been victims of domestic violence; built library shelves and collected thousands of books for the Collin County Juvenile Detention Center; painted the interior of the Assistance Center of Collin County, and more.
Leadership Plano, a program sponsored by the Plano Chamber of Commerce, begins a new class each September. Applications must be submitted during the summer, dates vary. For information about next year’s class, visit www.planochamber.org
Leadership Plano Class 33 members include:
Yvonne Booker, Assistance Center of Collin County
Terri McCoy, Keller Williams Realty
Lena Carrera, My Possibilities
Ruth McGuffey, Civic Volunteer
Penny Chapman, Civic Volunteer
Heather Merchant, City of Plano
Jason Cole, Baylor Regional Medical Center Plano
Urshel Metcalf, Optimal Economics
Amy Darrow, Civic Volunteer
Maria Moffatt, Junior League of Collin County
Barb Delk, InTouch Credit Union
Angela Pace, Thackeray Partners
Anjali Desai, Capital One
Scott Peek, Scott Peek Photography
Ed Drain, Plano Police Department
Alan Pixley, Collin College
Courtney Echols, Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas
Jennifer Ruhman, Plano Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer Edgeworth, Basinger Leggett Clemons Bowling
Mardy Sackley, Lone Star Legal
Scott Fischer, AXA Advisors
Melissa Sauvage, The Medical Center of Plano
Angela Fisher, The Medical Center of Plano
Lorraine Shimizu, Plano Independent School District
Morris Garcia, LTDNOW, LLC
Avery Spencer, AT&T Ecosystem & Innovation
Kahlil Gearon, Cigna
Susan Sutherland, Junior League of Collin County
Robert Hodges, Shreve Land Constructors
Tom Venner, Behringer
Leanne Libby, Community Impact Newspaper
Eric Wallis, Baylor Regional Medical Center Plano
Stephanie Mace, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Tresi Weeks, The Weeks Law Firm
Kelly Martin, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano
Photography by Mike Newman
