27 Graduate from Chamber’s 2023 Leadership Carteret Program

The Leadership Carteret Class of 2023

What an amazing 10 weeks it has been! The Leadership Carteret class of 2023 (best class ever!) graduated Wednesday after 10 weeks of listening, learning, exploring and expanding their horizons.

The class traversed the county from Cedar Island to Cedar Point, making dozens of stops in between. They heard from local leaders who shared their experiences, their mistakes, and their best advice. They saw how quickly and willingly our community will stand up in support of an amazing program like Leadership Carteret. Most of all, they built relationships with their classmates; they heard from other points of view; they forged new partnerships; they discovered new opportunities.

At graduation, the class presented on four philanthropic projects they’d taken on as part of the program’s mission to teach leadership through service. This year’s class projects included providing a BBQ dinner for Hope Mission, restoring summer camp cabins at Camp Albemarle, collecting nearly 1000 new “Books for Littles” with the United Way, and bagging oyster shells for living shorelines with NC Coastal Federation.

The class voted for Lewis Stroud, Dean of Student Services at Carteret Community College, to deliver the class graduation speech. Stroud reflected on the diversity of strengths class members brought to the table, and closed his comments with a Seussian poem crafted specifically for the occasion.

After Stroud’s remarks, Leadership Graduation speaker Kirk Dominick, President and CEO of the World Federation of Youth Clubs, spoke to the crowd about his journey from juvenile troublemaker to Boys Club director to Boys & Girls Clubs executive vice president and beyond. His take-home message: true leadership starts with putting the right people in the right place while coaching them and caring for them.

The ceremony concluded with the issuance of Leadership Carteret diplomas, presented by Chamber President Tom Kies and Leadership Carteret Facilitator Wendy Routson.

Congratulations to all 2023 graduates!

The Class of 2023

Leadership Carteret would be impossible without the the local governments, organizations, businesses and volunteers who gave their time, space, and financial support to the Class of 2023. We are truly grateful for you.

Leadership Carteret Sponsors

Big Rock Sports

Black & Tanne Realty Group

Carteret County Association of REALTORS

Carteret County Local Food Network

Carteret County Public Schools Foundation

Carteret-Craven Electrical Co-Operative

Christina Fulcher – Mary Cheatham King Real Estate

Clawson’s 1905 Restaurant & Pub / Aqua Restaurant

Debra Whaley, Attorney at Law

Diamond Bus Company

Duke Energy

Frank Door Company

Jason Holland – Cornerstone Home Lending

Paxon Holz

Robbie Oakes Mortgage Team at CIMG

Waylon Bell – Methodist Church, Morehead City

Leadership Carteret Facilitators

Alan Leary, Amanda Johnson, Anne Schrott, Christina Fulcher, Dee Smith, John Hagle, Julie Anderson, Kristi Mroch, Mary Joe Kaiser, Millie Chalk, Rebekah Murphy, Shannon Adams, Stacy Macklin, Steve Rea, Taylor McCune, Tessa Falcetta, Tom Hussmann, Wendy Routson

Additional Thanks

Beaufort Historic Site

Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament

Bobby’s BBQ

Bogue Sound Distillery

Camp Albemarle

Carteret Community College

Carteret Community Theater

Carteret Correctional Facility

Carteret County Government

Carteret County Public Schools

Chick-fi-la of Morehead City

Chris Yeomans

Class Act Catering

Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center

Crystal Coast Civic Center

Donna’s Deli

Downtown Morehead, Inc

Emerald Isle Realty

Fat Fella’s BBQ & Grille

First Bank

Fishing for a Cure

Fleet Readiness Center East

Fort Macon State Park

History Museum of Carteret County

Honey Baked Ham Company

Hope Mission

Hospice House

Island Express Ferry Service

James Cummings

Jim Normile

Karen Amspacher

MacDaddy’s

Michael J Smith Airport

Monica Willis Smith

Morehead City Marlins

NC Coastal Federation

NC Coastal Reserve and NC National Estuarine Research Reserve

NC Maritime Museum

NC Seafood Festival

Newport Pig Cooking Contest

NOAA

Olympus Dive Center

Parker Boats

Re/MAX Ocean Properties

Rett Newton

Sara Willis

Shortway Brewing Co.

Starbucks of Morehead City

The Banks Grill

Town of Atlantic Beach

Town of Beaufort

Town of Cape Carteret

Town of Cedar Point

Town of Emerald Isle

Town of Morehead City

Town of Newport

Town of Pine Knoll Shores

TransImpact

United Way

US Coast Guard

US Marine Corps

Whiskey Bravo’s Coastal Chophouse

Zaxby’s


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