Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and his daughter, Tiffany Ramsey Goforth, are both LEAD Bristol! graduates.
LEAD Bristol!
A Family Affair For Ramsey, Goforth LEAD Bristol! has been one of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce’s most significant programs since its inception in 1982. It began as Bristol Leadership Tomorrow with a vision to train leaders for the future, bringing growth and change to the community. With nearly 900 graduates thus far, with a number of them now serving in key roles in and around the community, it has proven to be extremely successful and beneficial to Bristol.
“Gosh, we’re pushing 30 years since I was in the class but I can tell you that I’ll never forget that time or the friendships I made,” he said. “During those months we were together I think we all learned a lot about leadership and working together. Bill Sorah, who is Bristol Tennessee’s city manager, was in my class and we had a tremendous amount of fun.”
“Those classes were very important because of all you learned about team building and things of that nature.”
“Those classes were very important because of all you learned about team building and things of that nature but a lot of it too was about making friendships that last a lifetime.”
It has been such a popular program that multiple family members have taken part Ramsey feels participating in LEAD Bristol! is a in LEAD Bristol!, as it now known, even wonderful building block. -Ron Ramseyfathers and daughters, as is the case with Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey and his daughter, Tiffany Ramsey “It’s a great way to train future leaders,” he said. “If you’re in a leadership Goforth. role, as I am now, it’s the perfect way to learn even more about how to lead and do it well. If you live in Bristol and you work for a non-profit or Ramsey was in one of the early classes, in 1988. While it’s been 27 years, any kind of company really, if you want to help the city, if you want to run Ramsey still remembers the experience fondly. for city council, being in LEAD will help you build the leadership qualities you’ll need to do that.”
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while being in the program was very educational, Ramsey says there were plenty of fun times too.
work on a community service project which gives you a real sense of making a difference.”
“Gosh yes, I remember the projects we were working on…and some of the funny things we did when we were working on them. Like some slides ended up being shown on the screen for our project that weren’t supposed to be shown… that was pretty funny. There were plenty of good times in those classes.”
LEAD Bristol! had a total of 17 members in its inaugural class, which included some of our top community leaders, such as Sid Oakley, Ronan King and Dean Tillison just to name a few. The first decade included Frank Goodpasture, Lee Shillito, Jewel Bell, Roger Leonard, Jeff Fleming, Bill Sorah, Sid Oakley Russell Leonard, Kim Leonard, Leah Ross, Jeff Walling, Craig Rockett, Lisa Lundberg, and many others.
Bill Sorah
Ramsey was selected for the inaugural Distinguished Leader honor during the LEAD Bristol 30th anniversary May graduation and was most appreciative. “Wow, that really meant a lot to me,” he said. “There have been an awful lot of really good people go through that program and for them to give me the very first one means a lot. It’s very humbling when you realize all the folks in this area who have graduated from LEAD who are really great leaders in this community.”
“As a former Chamber employee, I
knew I would enjoy LEAD Bristol! but the program truly exceeded all of my expectations.” -Tiffany Ramsey Goforth-
Goforth, who once worked at the Bristol Chamber of Commerce and is now the director of marketing at United Southeast Federal Credit Union was part of the most recent group of LEAD Bristol! graduates, the 30th anniversary class. She enjoyed the program immensely and was very happy to be part of it. “As a former Chamber employee, I knew I would enjoy LEAD Bristol! but the program truly exceeded all of my expectations,” she said. “The skills we learned and the topics that were covered were so beneficial and that’s true whether you’re new to the area or a lifelong Bristolian like myself. “My favorite aspect of the program is the relationships and friendships you build with fellow classmates. Being able to network with people who work in a variety of different organizations and companies is invaluable.” Goforth feels another big benefit to being part of the program is being able to give something back to the community.
“Making a positive impact in the community is very important to me,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons I like LEAD Bristol! so much because it allows you to
Former Bristol Tennessee Mayor and current city council member Margaret Feierabend also took part in LEAD during the 90s, along with Jeff Tickle, John Harr, Bucky Edmondson, Scott Peak, Wanda Valentine, Robin Moneyhun, Myers Massengill, Jim Brackens, Paul Montgomery, Larry Neese, Stacey Pomrenke, Jason Booher, Michael Parker, Diane Dempsey, Raj Venkatarman and a host of other leaders. The third decade welcomed such leaders as Helen Scott, Phil Timp, Kathy Feagins, Jay Teabeau, Beth Rhinehart, Cheryl Harvey, Tim Eads, Matt Austin, Bob Barnes, Greg Neal, Raymond Stockard, Tina Hogue, Drew Trivette, Tabitha Crowder, Jerry Kirk, Clayton Dowell, Jack Young, Sean Carrigan, Michelle Dolan and Kim Sproles, just to name a few.
Ronan King
The nearly 900 LEAD Bristol! graduates have taken part in numerous community projects over the last three decades, helping such groups as Healing Hands, United Way of Bristol, Bristol Faith in Action, Abuse Alternatives, Boys and Girls Clubs of Bristol, CASA for Kids, Children’s Advocacy Center, Theatre Bristol, and many others. In fact, the Diversity Project, which the YWCA of Bristol, Bristol Youth Leadership and LEAD Bristol! partnered on won a national award through the YWCA in 2006. LEAD was also recognized as the Corporate Volunteer of the Year for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Bristol/Washington Country in 2009 for its work for Child Abuse Prevention Month. These are just a few of LEAD’s achievements garnered through service projects. The main goal of the projects is to involve program participants and help them gain knowledge of specific needs in the community with the ultimate hope being to ignite their passions as they give back to their community.
Tabitha Crowder
June 2015
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30th Graduation Class from LEAD Bristol!
LEAD Bristol! Celebrates 30th Anniversary Graduates King University played host to the 30th graduating class from LEAD Bristol! in May with Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey serving as keynote speaker. With this year’s class, nearly 900 people have now graduated from LEAD Bristol!, an award-winning, highly respected program hosted by the Bristol Chamber of Commerce. LEAD Bristol!, designed for companies and organizations dedicated to helping their employees become leaders, is a nine-month training program which focuses on providing skills essential to leadership development. Networking with other members of the class not only provides new business contacts, it also facilitates long-lasting friendships. In partnership with local area colleges and universities, professors and other professionals are utilized to provide expertise in areas such as business ethics, communications, diversity, and many other topics crucial in building leadership abilities. While participants learn a variety of skill that will bolster their business relationships and careers, they also have the opportunity to give back to the community as each person also takes part in a service project.
LEAD Bristol! Sponsors CORPORATE SPONSORS: BVU AUTHORITY Program Sponsors: Bank of Tennessee, Bristol Herald Courier, Bristol Motor Speedway, Comfort Systems USA Bristol, and First Tennessee Foundation Contributing Sponsors: Eastman Chemical Company, Food City, KS Promotional Products, Pepsi and SESCO Management Consultants
2014-15 LEAD Bristol! Graduates April Breimann – Southwest Virginia Workforce Investment Board Chris Davis – Courtyard by Marriott Nikki Frazier – Eastman Credit Union Kevin Frederick – Bristol Tennessee Essential Services Tiffany Goforth – United Southeast Federal Credit Union Criss Golden – Virginia Highlands Community College Tim Hammond – Cain Rash West Architects Melissa Horton – Eastman Credit Union Ginger Hyde – Settlers Life Insurance Company Steve Jameson – Bristol Herald Courier Carey Kidd – Birthplace of Country Music, Inc Kathy Lowdermilk – Bristol Chamber of Commerce Chris Matherly – Bristol Compressors International, Inc Aaron Maxwell – Bristol Tennessee Essential Services Wallace McCulloch – City of Bristol Virginia Tyler Moody – CODE Restoration Sally Morgan – City of Bristol Virginia Brandi Owens – Shearer’s Foods Inc Michael Parker – NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership Cristina Perez – Alpha Natural Resources Ben Phillips – Brown, Edwards & Company Dave Pollard – Chick-fil-A Chris Rehm – Sullins Academy Debbie Richmond – Bristol Tennessee Police Department Julie Roberson – King University Jason Searcy – Bristol Regional Medical Center Amanda Smith – Eastman Alexis Snyder – PennStuart Jeremy Stout – City of Bristol Tennessee Cami Vance – AtWork Personnel Services Kris Webb – Shearer’s Foods Inc Brad White – Believe in Bristol Katie Winters – Holston Medical Group June 2015
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