Nineteen local business professionals were recognized as graduating from the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Brownwood Class of 2012 at Tuesday night’s annual Chamber banquet.

Leadership Brownwood began in the mid-80’s by the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce as a community leadership development program.  The mission of the program is to educate, develop and empower current and future leaders for the community and motivate them to serve civic, charitable, and business organizations.

The program lasts eight months, running from September through April and is designed to increase individual and community leadership skills.  Leadership Brownwood participants benefit from a broad-based education about the community in which they live and work, while developing a valuable communications network among civic, business and educational leaders. They also develop lasting friendships over the course of the year, and personal and professional skills that increase their effectiveness within their community and business environment.

The City of Brownwood benefits from the development of a source of high quality leaders with broadened perspectives prepared to address issues critical to Brownwood’s future. The success of the program can be measured by the number of Leadership Brownwood graduates who currently serve the community in volunteer and elected positions.

Businesses whose employees participate in Leadership Brownwood gain not only a knowledge of the inner workings of the city, but also personal skills that increase their effectiveness in their professional environment.

The Leadership Brownwood Class of 2012 is pictured above and includes the following graduates:

Clint Broughton – Coldwell Banker and Associates

Pedro Claudio – 3M Company

Karina Daniel – Blaylock Funeral Home

Maricia Dowden – Painter and Johnson Financial

Sabrina Estades – Central Texas Rural Transit Dist.

Andy Gill – Brownwood ISD

Coby Kestner – Howard Payne University

Heather Langley – Central Texas Rural Transit Dist.

Vince Laquidara – 3M Company

Becca Miles – Porter Insurance

Stuart Porter – Porter Insurance

Penny Riggs – Texas Youth Commission

Angie Smith – Dept. of Veterans Affairs

Stacee Smith – Painter and Johnson Financial

Tina Tobien – Wendlee Broadcasting

Charlotte Tongate – Texas State Technical College

Dion White – Center for Life Resources

Ruth Willey – City of Brownwood

Etla VanHorne-Carquill – Ranger College