Leadership Franklin Class of 2014 Receives Certificates
A group of about 19 Franklin County professionals now have a new certification to add to their list of credentials.
They are the 2014 Graduating Class of Leadership Franklin.
Sponsored by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, the class received their diplomas Thursday at the Lavonia Train Depot.
Keynote speaker was State Senator John Wilkinson. In his speech to the graduates, Wilkinson equated good leadership with influence.
Wilkinson encouraged the group to strive for successful leadership and he cited four key characteristics of influence. Those characteristics, he said include Credibility, Concern for Others, Commitment, and Competence.
Wilkinson put Credibility at the top of his list and said the foundation of any good leader is his ethical standards.
“If you think about all the people that we consider great leaders, most of the ones that have challenges, unfortunately many times, it’s an ethical failure,” Wilkinson said. “A lot of times, people will forgive you for making a mistake, but they have a harder time fogiving you for misleading them.”
Sen. John Wilkinson speaks to the Leadership Franklin Class
Wilkinson also said good leaders are concerned for others and it shows.
“I think if you’re going to have influence with people, you have to have a genuine concern for them,” he said. “It can’t just be about ‘what’s in it for me?’, you have to have a real concern for people.”
After Wilkinson’s speech, the group heard from class president Brian Armstrong who introduced the class project. That project was a video promoting the benefits of living and working in Franklin County. Armstrong said the video was a group effort.
“A lot of effort went into this. This was the first time we have ever done anything like this,” he said. “It was a team and collaborative effort, not only in the class but with the businesses in the community and members of education and members of the Chamber. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
After the video was played, each member received their Franklin Leadership certificate.