Charleston Metro Chamber announces Leadership Charleston graduates

On Wednesday, June 14, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce celebrated the graduation of the Leadership Charleston Class of 2017. For 43 years, Leadership Charleston has been identifying and developing leaders in our community, producing over 2000 graduates that have become leaders in local, regional and global industries, legislative appointments and civic stewardship.

“The Leadership Charleston program provides our up and coming leaders the opportunity to learn about our community, to collaborate with their peers and to find areas in which they can contribute their talent in moving our community forward,” said Mary D. Garcia, Senior VP of BNC Bank.

The mission of Leadership Charleston is to identify and motivate emerging leaders and to develop their leadership potential by introducing them to the realities, opportunities and challenges of our civic and business communities. Graduates experience the power of working with other community leaders and organizations for positive growth and advancement of the region.

“As someone that interacts with the Charleston business community daily, not a day goes by where I do not reference a relationship I have made, a speaker that we met or an experience that we enjoyed. Leadership Charleston has allowed me to integrate into the region in a way that I could not have found anywhere else,” said Michael Naioti, TD Bank, Class of 2017. “It has accelerated my ability to make a difference and influence those around me, by knowing what is really happening in our region.”

This year’s graduates participated in Day of Caring, attended more than 450 public meetings, rode CARTA to experience public transportation availability and services and participated in a police ride along. These experiential activities aided students’ vision of their community from different viewpoints, allowing them to focus on where they can make a positive difference using their unique perspective.

The Leadership Charleston Class of 2017 was sponsored by BNC Bank, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Roper St. Francis and South Carolina Aquarium. To learn more about Leadership Charleston, visit charlestonchamber.net/leadership.

Leadership Charleston Class of 2017

About the Charleston Metro Chamber

With approximately 1,600 member organizations representing 160,000 professionals, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce serves as the collective voice of the business community, and a catalyst for regional economic advancement and member success through Talent, Advocacy, Leadership and Business Development. Visit charlestonchamber.net