Applications for the next class of Leadership St. Johns will be accepted soon for the program that will begin next year.
Several residents of Ponte Vedra Beach were among the 2019-2020 class. This year-long program selects participants from all sectors of industry, commerce and public service across St. Johns County.
Andrew Aleman, managing attorney, St. Johns Title, Ponte Vedra Beach; Suzan Lupton, branch VP, VyStar Credit Union, Ponte Vedra Beach; and Matt Price, Regions Bank vice president/commercial banking, Ponte Vedra Beach, were selected for the 2020 class, which accomplished a great deal despite being shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic, the class of 2020’s project created a wildly successful online virtual auction which raised well over $10,000 for the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County.
The LSJ program began in 2001 and has more than 350 alumni including Flagler College President Joseph Joyner, Superintendent of Schools Tim Forson, Flagler Health + CEO Jason Barrett, local entrepreneur and St. Augustine Distillery founding partner Phillip McDaniel, St. Johns County Commissioner Jeremiah Blocker and St. Augustine Fire Chief Carlos Aviles among many other notable graduates.
The Leadership St. Johns Program was established to educate, connect and encourage elite and emerging professionals as they strive to make a positive impact on the local economy and community.
According to Bob Porter, the Chamber’s LSJ program director, LSJ graduates continue to be mentored by program alumni who maintain and promote a positive difference in the region.
“The program provides a way to recognize talented individuals who will benefit from the experience and who can utilize the opportunity to advance their organizational and personal professional goals,” Porter said. “Additionally, strong connections established among class members are invaluable throughout one’s career and beyond.”
The Chamber will begin accepting applications for the next class this fall.
Additional information and the application can be found at www.sjcchamber.com/leadership-st.-johns. The application will be available later this fall. The 2021 program is expected to end with a graduation ceremony and dinner in September. Class members must be committed to meeting one day each month to experience a full day of policy briefings and onsite tours providing an in-depth overview of the challenges and opportunities faced by St. Johns County’s many industries, government agencies and nonprofits. The course will begin with a one-and-a-half-day retreat, eight full class days and conclude with an evening graduation in fall 2021. Class members who successfully graduate from the program are accepted into the prestigious ranks of leadership alumni in St. Johns County and across Florida. Many LSJ graduates have gone on to the prestigious state-wide Leadership Florida program.
Isabelle Renault, the Chamber’s president/CEO and a graduate of Leadership St. Johns and Leadership Florida, suggested involvement in LSJ can be a stepping stone to participating in nonprofit and volunteer government advisory boards as well as involvement in future elected office.
“We also want our class members to consider using the skills honed through the LSJ experience to engage actively in the governing of St. Johns County,” Renault said.
