This year’s 2020-2021 Leadership Tomorrow Class: Chandler Andrews, Hastings Birdsong, Caroline Bray, Ella Brown-Terry, Emily Burditt, Ainsley Byers, Caden Cain, Ashleigh Caldwell, Elle Rose Carson, Sunny Clark, Will Clinton, Luke Cross, Olivia Bryant Dooley, Madison Duncan, Ansam El-Beram, Gwen Falwell, Hannah Foote, Alana Grace Haynes, Reese Henderson, Mary B. Howell, Caroline Kim Korey Knight, Laken McDaniel, Wesley McCuiston, Olivia Mikulcik, Lila Munsey, Andrew Orr, Makenna Perkins, Savannah Pitman, Kaitlyn Price, Bailey Provine, Ainsley Smith, Bella Swain, Skylar Swalls, Gabe Taylor, and Claire Whitaker. (Not Pictured) Carson Bobo, Luke Cullop, and Annabel Wilmurth
Murray, Ky., Dec 1-Leadership Tomorrow (LT) kicked off the 2019-2020 year with 40 junior and senior students from Calloway County and Murray High Schools. An on-line virtual kick-off was hosted for the group, which involved a recorded video from community leaders representing the following areas: Agriculture (Dr. Kristie Guffey/MSU Assistant Professor, Agricultural Science), Arts (Dr. Carrie Jerrell/MSU assistant to CHFA Department) , Community Resources (Representatives from both the Calloway County and Murray Independent school districts), Health(Dr Jerry Penner, CEO Murray Calloway County Hospital), Business (Tim Stark-The Murray Bank vice-president marketing), and Law and Government (Linda Avery- Calloway Circuit Court Clerk). Catherine Lanier, VP of The Murray Bank, directed the group online in team building leadership skills with the Star Power Team Building interactive activity.
Established by former director Jean Bennett and Mark Kennedy (both graduates of Leadership Murray), Leadership Tomorrow has been a viable program for the past 20 plus years. Today, the program is partnered with Murray State University. Shawn Smee, Murray State University Director of Recruitment:, directs the new partnership with MSU. During the year-long program, Murray State offers a GUI 100 Self-Development and Career Exploration three-hour elective option for students to gain college credit. Smee, who serves as the instructor, explained most all universities will transfer this class as an elective course, as it will be on the official transcript. Additionally, Murray State assists in providing meals and transportation funding to the program. Students will meet throughout the year once a month to gain a more in-depth look at the Murray/Calloway County community, and meet with area leaders to discuss prospective career opportunities, and understand the collaborative partnerships between community leaders. During the year students will attend the following sessions: Agriculture Day, Arts Day, Community Resources Day, Health Day, Business Day, Law and Government Day. The students have been subdivided this year, and after each group meets with their respective assigned group leaders, they will be responsible for providing a presentation. This year’s group has already attended on-line virtual meetings with numerous day chairs.
Sherry Purdom, Community Education Director, co-directs the program with Jamey McDaniel, CCHS instructor. “We commend each of our Leadership Tomorrow committee members, as well as each of our day chairs. This year definitely has presented a different program to our students, but, with the help of our great community leaders, we are staying the course,” Purdom said.
CCHS and MHS incoming juniors and seniors are able to apply to the Leadership Tomorrow program through an application process in the spring. Applications are scored blindly and students are accepted into the program after sending the applications out of the community for rubric scoring.