On Tuesday, June 8, 2021 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 over 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 |
| Frank | Mundy | Stewart Engineering, Inc. |
| Megan | Newbold | Garvin Design Group |
| Cassandra | Paden | South Carolina Federal Credit Union |
| Rachel | Phillips | South Carolina Air National Guard |
| Rachel | Price | Palmetto Conservation Foundation |
| Catherine | Ramirez | Chernoff Newman |
| Brittani | Richards | Central SC Habitat for Humanity |
| Arteya | Robinson | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina |
| Jamesha | Shackerford | Central Carolina Community Foundation |
| Austin | Smallwood | South Carolina Realtors |
| Meredith | Smith | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina |
| Taylor | Stanley | Turner Padget Graham & Laney P.A. |
| Diana | Stevenson | Grace Outdoor Advertising |
| Sara | Svedberg | Nexsen Pruet, LLC |
| Thomas | Tafel | Lexington Medical Center |
| Maya | Troy | Colonial Life |
| Theresa | Wallace | South Carolina Humanities |
| Robert | Willm | Nephron Pharmaceuticals |
"Leadership Columbia provides an unparalleled leadership development opportunity," said Patrick Cleary, 2020-2021 Leadership Columbia Advisory Board Chair, "the Class of 2021 showed incredible teamwork and impact in the Midlands while in the program. We look forward to another successful group of leaders in the Class of 2022."
In August, the Columbia Chamber will announce the Leadership Columbia Class of 2022.