THE BEST CLASS ‘FOREVER’ Leadership Monroe County honors Class XXX

LAW CHANGE: 101.62 REQUEST FOR VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS

pril 29 marked a day for celebration as Leadership Monroe County filled Marathon’s Oceanfront Park to commemorate the graduation of Class XXX – “Leaders Gone Wild.”

In a successful pivot from its traditional graduation format, the program enlisted the help of dozens of local nonprofits, government agencies, bands and vendors to turn the celebration of the program’s 30th class into a family-friendly festival. A short-andsweet graduation ceremony capped the evening to honor Class XXX’s achievements over the past seven months – including an ambitious class project that saw a delegation travel to Washington, D.C. on a grassroots advocacy mission that drew high praise from local officials, U.S. Sen. Carlos Gimenez, FEMA and military officials in the Pentagon.

Established in 1992, Leadership Monroe County is an educational nonprofit community leadership organization developed to address the rapidly changing needs and concerns of the county, develop a group of well-educated leaders, help guide the community in a positive direction and foster countywide effective and nonpartisan alliances. Through a series of single or multi-day sessions over seven months, participants examine the fundamental public and private segments throughout the county. More information is at leadershipmonroecounty.org.

The members of Class XXX. Front row, from left: Kevin Macaulay, Dakin Weekley, Cheryl Sullivan, Robyn Still, Kerry Cosme, Rachel Bowman, Christine Limbert-Barrows. Second row: Jim Marquardt, Christian Kellenberger, Sarah Fangman, Dwight Hill, Chris Rivett, James Hager, Kate Koler, Craig McBay. Third row: Leah Stockton, Alex Rickert, Lauren Dunn, Rolando Monteagudo, Cary Knight. Fourth row: Andrew Morawski. SCOTT ATTWELL/Contributed.