On June 8 at the Hunter-Gatherer Brewery at the Curtiss-Wright Hangar, the Columbia Chamber and the Leadership Columbia Advisory Board (LCAB) honored 36 graduates of the Leadership Columbia program.

The Class of 2021 completed an orientation, a retreat, ten class days and a class project with the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition. Since its inception in 1972, Leadership Columbia has graduated more than 2,000 leaders across the Midlands.

“For the past 48 years, Leadership Columbia has consistently provided the Midlands with dynamic leaders who are passionate about inspiring change in the community,” said Carl Blackstone, President and CEO of the Columbia Chamber, “The project the Class of 2021 has completed for the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition will serve as a welcoming space for local fathers and their children for years to come.”

In addition to presenting each graduate with a commemorative plaque, the Columbia Chamber and Leadership Columbia Advisory Board honored Megan Newbold, Garvin Design Group, with the Glenn Jacobus Award, an award given each year to a class member who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the class project and truly embodies the role of a servant leader.

The Leadership Columbia Class of 2021:
John Andoh, Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority; Rachel Atria, YMCA of Columbia; Marcia Bacon, Richland First Steps; Michael Barker, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina; Thomas Beard, Colliers International; Kaitlin Beck, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.; Jennifer Berryman, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina; Sam Bond, South Carolina Education Lottery; Tom Bryant, South Carolina Air National Guard; Aditi Srivastav Bussells, Children’s Trust of South Carolina; Branden Conrad, First Citizens Bank; Kimberlei Davis, WOLO-TV; Mimi Draft, Columbia Water; Megan Huebner, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of SC; Rachel John, Boudreaux; Rula Kibler, Colonial Life; Catie Martin, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina; Hunter McKenzie, Goodwyn Mills Cawood

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