WESTSTAR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM RECEIVES STATEWIDE AWARD

WESTSTAR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM RECEIVES STATEWIDE AWARD

MARTIN, Tenn. – The Tennessee Association for Community Leadership honored the

University of Tennessee at Martin’s WestStar Leadership Program with the 2018 Outstanding

Leadership Program Award during its annual conference held Oct. 17-19 in Knoxville. This is

the first year WestStar has received this honor.

The WestStar Leadership Program, established in 1989, is the oldest and largest regional

leadership program in the state and currently boasts more than 800 alumni. The 2019 class,

chosen in December, will be the 30 th in program history.

Each year, approximately 30 new WestStar class members participate in sessions across West

Tennessee to discuss the challenges and successes of the region and develop new ideas to

improve the economic prosperity of the area. The WestStar Leadership Program also hosts the

Working Women’s Conference each February and the first and only regional African-American

Leadership Conference each April. The FutureStar and RisingStar regional programs for youth

also provide leadership development for students in grades seven, eight, 11 and 12, respectively.

“Through my involvement as a participant, alumnus and board member, I have seen the value of

this program and the benefit it has to rural West Tennessee,” wrote Jake Bynum, mayor of

Weakley County, when recommending the program for this award. “WestStar not only teaches

invaluable leadership skills and information about our communities, but it also provides a

network of connections that I have been able to use time and time again.” Bynum is a 2013

WestStar graduate.

For more information on the WestStar Leadership Program or the Tennessee Association for

Community Leadership, contact Virginia Grimes, WestStar program coordinator, at 731-881-

7298.