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June 10, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: HUNTERDON CHAMBER HOSTS LEADERSHIP HUNTERDON GRADUATION The 10th Class of Leadership Hunterdon will celebrate their graduation with a dinner attended by family, friends and members of the Business Community on Wednesday, June 16th at Stanton Ridge Golf and Country Club in Whitehouse Station at 5:30 p.m. Since 2012, Leadership Hunterdon, a program initiated by the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, has been transforming people to become trustees of our communities and the next generation of leaders that will impact Hunterdon County. This 10-month immersive program takes participants on a “behind the scenes” overview of Hunterdon County. Through the course of the program, class members are exposed to issues that face the County including transportation, tourism, public health, government, and most recent, COVID. Along the way, the participants meet with key leaders in business, community, the non-profit sector, and politics. They graduate from the program with stronger leadership skills and enhanced knowledge of the County to take back to their respective organizations, businesses, etc. “Leadership Hunterdon has proven itself to be a contributor in cultivating strong leaders for business and non-profit organizations in addition to raising the level of engagement in community service here in Hunterdon County,” said Chamber President and co-facilitator Chris Phelan. He added, “out of the 70+ alumni that have participated in this program, 80% of them have taken on new leadership roles within their organizations, communities and non-profits in Hunterdon County as well as other civic opportunities.” Members of this year’s class come from diverse backgrounds: non-profit, municipal, small business, large business, health, sole proprietors, and education. As a culminating project, each cohort collectively works on a white paper that is completed by the end of the program. This year’s graduating class experienced an incredibly unique situation – COVID Pandemic. The class was to originally graduate in June of 2020 with 10 graduates. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and the changes it brought to our lives, the class had to halt and adapt to attend to their own change within their personal and work lives and the loss of 3 graduates that were unable to complete the course due to their work schedule changes. So much was happening in a short period of time - lives were changing day-to-day, week-to-week, etc. As we are now back and ready to graduate, a special thank you to all the graduates that made this happen. “This year’s 7-member graduating class represents a growing number of our workforce who recognize the call for next-generation leaders,” program co-facilitator Karen Widico said. “Exposing the selected participants to varied styles of leadership throughout the program while concurrently learning about the fabric that weaves Hunterdon County’s unique tapestry of assets and challenges, is a formula for success that will make up the next generation of County leaders,” Widico added. Tickets for this event must be purchased in advance by visiting www.hunterdonchamber.org or calling the Hunterdon County Chamber Offices at 908-782-7115. 2021 Leadership Hunterdon Graduates and their Representing Organizations: Candice Rienzo Norris McLaughlin, P.A. Chris Kellogg NightingaleNJ, LLC Douglas Hilgenberg BKC, CPAs, PC Kimberly Tennant Hunterdon Healthcare LLC Marilyn Zeleny Hunterdon Cardiovascular Associates Russell Crosby Russ's Wrench Todd Bonsall Hunterdon County Vocational School District The mission of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Foundation is to effectively focus the skills and resources of the Greater Hunterdon County business community and advance the interests of the Hunterdon County business community through business resources, economic & workforce development, leadership development, tourism, philanthropy, and the promotion of civic, educational, cultural and economic interests of the region.