KNOXVILLE — Sixteen county and municipal government leaders have successfully completed the 17th annual Local Government Leadership Program (LGLP) at the Jimmy Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership, an agency of the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service.
UT faculty and private consultants led the three-day, invitation-only program that focused on personal leadership, ethics, public education and state budget practices in Tennessee. The program ended Oct. 30.
“LGLP gives elected and appointed government officials the opportunity to examine the best practices in leadership and to learn from their colleagues and counterparts across the state,” said Tom Kohntopp, manager of leadership and executive development programs for the Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership. “By coming together, we find that common issues face officials in East, Middle and West Tennessee. LGLP participants share ideas, and their conversations and advice can lead to new solutions for their communities.”
For more than four decades, IPS has offered leadership programs that promote effective government through creative leadership, managerial effectiveness, professional skills enhancement and lifelong development for leaders and their organizations. With custom-designed programs for both local and state leaders, IPS helps Tennessee’s government professionals meet the challenges of public service. LGLP participants are nominated by their peers, LGLP alumni or IPS staff.
Since its inception in 1991, more than 400 people have completed the Local Government Leadership Program. This year, two officials from Mountain City attended the training on scholarships available through the state office of economic and community development.
Completing LGLP 2009 were:
- Doug Bodary, finance and budget consultant, UT County Technical Assistance Service
- Curt Cobb, clerk and master, Bedford County
- Phillip Custer, administrator of elections, Franklin County
- Patty Custer, payroll specialist, Franklin County
- Pam Deen, county clerk, Tipton County
- Bill Dunlap, highway superintendent, Blount County
- Edmund Ford, councilman, Memphis
- Frances Hunley, property assessor, Madison County
- Lynn King, alderman, Livingston
- Jeffrey Long, sheriff, Williamson County
- Lisa Niles, circuit court clerk, Loudon County
- Kevin Parsons, mayor, Mountain City
- Mike Smith, trustee, Bradley County
- Connie Stephens, county clerk, Hardin County
- Carol Wade, county clerk, Giles County
- Willis Walker, alderman, Mountain City