Leadership Cashiers Program

Written By: Stephanie Edwards - Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce | Issue: 2019/04 - April

The inaugural Leadership Cashiers class recently launched its seven-month program with an opening retreat at Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club. 

The Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce’s new community engagement initiative is based on a development model used by many cities across the country to prepare and motivate participants to offer quality community leadership.

The program’s mission is to inform, connect, and engage individuals by intensively studying issues affecting the area and by building strong working relationships for enlightened, dynamic leadership. A volunteer task force comprised of Ben Harris, Don Jehle, Bob Starkey, Irv Welling, Stephanie Edwards, and others worked to establish the program, which the Cashiers Area Chamber underwrites and manages. 

Class members include David Billingsley of United Community Bank; Margaret Carton of Friends of Panthertown; Brent Eason of Zoller Hardware; Brad Herman of High Hampton Resort; Brent Metcalf of Christ Church of the Valley; Cheryl Moss of Coward, Hicks & Siler, PA; Pat Morse of Western Carolina University; Eli Ramirez of the Cashiers Area Chamber; Emily Reback of Western Carolina University; Andrew Renfro of Lonesome Valley; Serenity Richards of the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library; James Stewart-Payne of the Library and Summit Charter School; and Thomas Taulbee. 

The Leadership Cashiers program was designed to build a “cadre of area leaders with the necessary tools and connectivity for making a meaningful positive impact on our community as well as insight on our future challenges,” explained Welling, who also serves as chair of Program Sponsor Vision Cashiers (formerly Village Conservancy).

Participants will attend regular sessions with subject matter experts on Economic Development, Government, Planning & Infrastructure, Education, and Health & Human Services.  Personal leadership skills also will be developed through academic and team-building exercises. 

Angela Owen of Truventure Enterprises serves as Program Director.  She is also executive director and course instructor of Vision Transylvania, a similar program in Brevard, North Carolina.

Session Sponsors providing financial support for the inaugural Leadership Cashiers class include: Coward, Hicks & Siler, Entegra Bank, Harris Custom Homes, High Hampton Resort, Eric Moody CPA, United Community Bank, Western Carolina University, Zoller Hardware, and scholarship funding has been committed by Rotary Club of Cashiers Valley.

For more information, visit LeadershipCashiers.org, email [email protected], or call (828) 743-5191.