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Leadership Greater Topeka Class Announced

Thirty-six individuals from Topeka and Shawnee County have been selected to participate in the 2008 Leadership Greater Topeka program.   Leadership Greater Topeka, a program of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce since 1984, identifies outstanding potential leaders from various components of the community.  There are over 700 alumni of the program.

Class members will attend a retreat and seven day-long sessions between January 31 and May 7 to learn about challenges facing the City of Topeka and Shawnee County and how they, as individuals, can work to influence community issues and problems.  The 2008 class was chosen from more than 200 nominees representing a variety of backgrounds and a cross section of the community. 

Members of the 2008 class are: 

Erin Atwood, student, Washburn Rural High School; Mike Bell, general manager, Holiday Inn Topeka; Janelle Brazington, operations specialist, Kansas Action for Children; Juanita Breeding, hospitalist program business coordinator, Stormont-Vail HealthCare, Roger Brokke, general sales manager, WIBW-TV; Greg Carr, vice president/commercial lender, Capital City Bank; Dave Clauson, marketing communications manager, Security Benefit; Pam Coller, retired AT&T; Shaye Downing, associate attorney, Sloan, Eisenbarth, Glassman, McEntire & Jarboe, LLC; Stacy Elmer, health policy analyst, Kansas Hispanic & Latino American Affairs Commission and Office of the Governor; DeAnn Escalante, director, lifestyle and wellness, Brewster Place; Sandy Fields, senior pastor, New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church; Blake Flanders, director of workforce training and education services, Kansas Board of Regents/Kansas Dept. of Commerce; Linessa Frazier, manager, learning and development; Payless ShoeSource Corporate Office; Kevin Grieves, senior manager, BNSF Railway; Olga Hennessey, director of day services and senior services, TARC, Inc.; Becky Holmquist, treasury management partner, U.S. Bank; Daniel Jaramillo, detective, Shawnee County Sheriff's Office; Eric Johnson, director of operations, Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority; Elizabeth Johnson, director of marketing, Horst, Terrill & Karst Architects, P.A.; Lisa Kaspar, public service executive II, Kansas Department of Revenue; John Ladson, Topeka land development division manager/vice president, Bartlett & West; Willie Lambert, owner, Great Plains Running Company; Mary Lenz, marketing communications manager, Capitol Federal Savings Bank; Ron Miller, chief of police, Topeka Police Department; Kathy Mosher, community based services team leader,  Family Service and Guidance Center; Scott Raymond, corporate counsel, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas; Kim Ribelin, program coordinator, Kansas Secretary of State’s Office; Luce Rubio, manager, corporate communications, Hill's Pet Nutrition; Kae Seymour, student, Washburn University; Chad Taylor, attorney, Law Offices of Chadwick J. Taylor, LLC; Mark Thiel, transportation operations division manager, public works department, City of Topeka; Leilani Todd, director, finance and human resources,  Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc.; Anne Weigel, assistant vice president, Community National Bank; Tommy Welton, student, Hayden High School; Cindy Wilson, manager, internal audit, Westar Energy.