Leadership Greater Little Rock is one of the best ideas ever implemented by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce. It fills so many roles for our community and its business.
Over the years, I have had many of the Chamber’s members request that one of their associates be included in the program. They are aware that it can serve as a strong training ground and expose their new or up and coming team members to the broader community. Many business owners are graduates as well. Not only do they learn leadership skills from many of Little Rock’s best, but long lasting relationships are built. Previous leadership graduates will often comment that they not only were exposed to many facets of the community, but enjoyed establishing friendships with individuals from various industries in Little Rock.
I have been fortunate over the years to be associated with some of the great leaders of this region. It’s occurred to me many times that these individuals will be hard to replace they disengage or retire from community service. Leadership Greater Little Rock is replenishing the forces that will become this region’s community leaders in the future. Almost three decades have passed since the first class graduated and we now have approximately 1,400 alumni. I’m proud to say many are taking on the responsibilities once shouldered by others.
It’s quite a commitment for those who participate, and on behalf of the Chamber Board of Directors I want to thank them and congratulate them for giving of themselves to this worthwhile endeavor. Now comes the fun part and that is to utilize all that was learned through the program for the betterment of each one’s own career and for the metro Little Rock region. I appreciate the Leadership Board of Trustees for their work to create such an effective and worthwhile venture. They are the backbone and inspiration for this effort.
We are all beneficiaries of this program. It’s building leaders within our companies and in our community.
Gary Smith
Chairman, Board of Directors
Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce 2014