25th ANNIVERSARY LEADERSHIP CLASS A STELLAR ONE

In 1980 the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce began a Leadership Class, a common practice among chambers.

It was pitched to young up and coming business people, whether self-employed or employed with a large company.

Said banker Jerry Stapleton, a member of that first class, “going through the class was meant to give us an understanding of the dynamics of the county and city, and to learn about Fayette County from stem to stern. After completion, we had a better feel for our county, realized what our county had to offer, and made us proud to live and work here.”

The Leadership classes since that time have included studying more and more facets of the county, from spending an evening at the Fayette County Historical Society, to hearing from mayors and council, to touring the jail and learning about each of its departments, to riding with the sheriff’s deputies. Those who wished to do the latter, had to submit to a criminal background check, and then rode a four-hour shift.

One of the more popular classes involves visiting two or three industries. Members are always amazed at the various products made here.

Though the classes were encouraged to create projects that would benefit Fayette County, the 2005 Leadership Class went above and beyond.

The members were placed in five groups. In the past, the groups met on Tuesday evenings over several months. This year, they met a full half-day each month.

Team 1 consisted of Beth Brooks, who co-owns ServiceMaster with her husband, Mark Schofield, a loan officer with Regions Bank, Kevin Snyder, Lacy and Snyder, LLP, and Harold Logsdon, newly elected mayor of Peachtree City.

They chose the Fayette County Jail as their project.

Statistics learned were that the new facility, built in 2003, houses 200 to 300 inmates on a daily basis, 5,000 on an annual basis. A meeting with jail officials, Major Robert Glaze, Director of Technical Services, and Lt. Steve Coker, Jail Operations, revealed their highest priorities included a chaplain for the jail; the start of a GED program; and being able to provide inmates with motivational and faith-based books.

Team 1 set its goal to connect businesses, organizations, churches, ministries, and individuals to the jail. Its common interest among these groups would be to provide educational and spiritual resources to the inmates, thereby making a positive impact while they served sentences. It is hoped that when they are released, they will return to the community as productive citizens, making Fayette County a safer place to live.

At this point the group has been in contact with two different prison ministries and learned that while they train people for jail ministry, the general cost of supplying a chaplain could require as much as $30,000 a year. While that sum of money was rather daunting, word went out and a Fayette Countian who recently retired was interested in the plan. He will complete his Masters in Theology this Spring and the time and willingness to do the work on a volunteer basis.

Churches have been approached to sponsor book drives to supply the inmates with motivational books while in prison. The inmates have a lot of free time while waiting for a trial, and this time could well be served by reading motivational or spiritual materials. Fayette County judge, Charles Floyd, told the group that “desperation” is the emotion inmates feel on their first offense. He said it is the time when inmates would be most effected by the efforts of Group 1.

Donated books must have a soft cover. A call to Beth Brooks, 770-486-6485 will get them picked up. Churches can call the same number if they would like to participate.

Judges Floyd and Fletcher Sams have endorsed the idea of a GED program and have stated they would encourage offenders to participate in the program.

Barnes & Noble, Family Christian Bookstores and Books a Million have committed to sponsor 2 one-week book fairs a year. A percentage of sales from books, DVDs, and CDs will be donated to these programs.

Over the next weeks we will examine the work of Teams 2 through 5, and discover which group started the Christmas Festival of Lights, which benefits the Fayette Senior Citizens, the group that is purchasing golf carts for the Piedmont-Fayette Hospital to be used as courtesy cart to transport patients from the large parking lot up to the hospital, the group that assisted the Fayette Holiday Helpers to raise funds for Christmas gifts for the needy and helped to distribute them, and the story behind the group helping the Fayette Samaritans to maintain its needed supply of food items.

Each story of the groups will make you proud to be a Fayette Countian. And, perhaps, encourage you to be a part of the next Leadership Class.

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