The Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Bulloch class visited the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta earlier in February.
The class was welcomed by local State Sen. Billy Hickman and his wife, JoAnn. The class then went to the Senate floor, where they received a briefing on the top initiatives of the body, including legislation pertaining to the foster care system, as well as crime control.
According to Chamber president and CEO Jennifer Davis, the class had the privilege of meeting Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan during their time on the Senate floor. The Senate convened at 10 a.m. and Mrs. Hickman remained with the class to observe the session.
Sen. Hickman, with great pride Davis said, introduced the Leadership Bulloch class to be recognized by the Senate floor, which provided him the opportunity to share his own experience as part of the inaugural Leadership Bulloch class.
Class participants provided Hickman details regarding the class’s community service project, in partnership with Bulloch County Habitat for Humanity, with completion expected May 2022.
State Representatives Butch Parrish, Jan Tankersley and Majority Leader Jon Burns also took a moment to meet class participants and provide an update on their respective committees in the Georgia House. The class also met with and heard from State Senators Max Burns (District 23), Tonya P. Anderson (District 43), Carden Summers (District 13), and Ian Caraway, deputy director of Government Affairs and Policy for the Office of Brian P. Kemp.
The following day the class visited Mercedes Benz Stadium for a unique behind-the scenes tour with Dawn Brown, tour operations and education program manager for the stadium. That was followed by a question-and-answer session with Dennette Thornton, director of Group Sales and Stadium Tours and Warren Parr, vice president of Ticket Sales and Service for the Atlanta Falcons.
As alumni of Georgia Southern, both Thornton and Parr also discussed their strong relationship with the university, which, they said, helps them recruit strong candidates to work for the stadium.
Leadership Bulloch class participants include Leslie Deal Akins, Dorsey Baldwin, John Banter, Phil Boyum, Demetrius Bynes, Brian Harris, Noah Kamsler, Jenni Kight, Judith Oglesby, Elizabeth Oliver, Jared Mock, Bryan Realiza and Naronda Wright.
Davis said the Chamber would like to express gratitude to the class chairs who helped plan the session as community volunteers and Leadership Bulloch alumni. The class chairs are Chris Wiggins, Paige Navarro, Stephanie Neal and Alex McGhee.
Leadership Bulloch is a competitive, nine-month flagship program of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce that seeks to identify and develop future community leaders by exposing class participants to various aspects of the community, including economic development, public safety, agribusiness and local and state government.