The graduation ceremony took place March 26, 2018 at the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark Visitor Center in Maumee. The ceremony included opening remarks from program facilitator Tim Schneider, Manager, Local Government Advocacy for the Chamber, and Ben Brown, Vice President, USI Insurance Services, and Chairman of The Leadership Fund PAC.
Senator McColley shared the leadership value of never asking someone to do something they aren’t willing to do themselves. “Lead by example and with passion,” he urged the group. Also, using a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he encouraged graduates to remember to maintain their conviction and do the right thing, no matter how hard it might be.

Formerly Leadership Academy, the program is in its 17th year and remains the longest running of its kind in the state. The Institute is made possible by the Chamber, The Leadership Fund, the Ohio State University Extension, and the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. We congratulate each of the following 2018 Institute graduates:
Joe Browning, Toledo Edison, A FirstEnergy Company
Tara Butler, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Lauraine Carpenter, Toledo Symphony Orchestra
Cecilia Castellano, Bowling Green State University
Nicholas Cosentino, Prudential Financial, Inc.
Raina Dawson, Zonta Toledo Club
Kate Decker, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
Kelleigh Decker, Lucas County
Lori DeShetler, The University of Toledo
Melissa Gunner, MaritzCX
Taneaka Haley, Toledo Edison, A FirstEnergy Company
Cindy Hurst, Lourdes University
Kyle Jazwiecki, RCO Law
Blair Johnson, BMJ Enterprises LLC
Rob Keleghan, Signature Associates
Jeffrey Koenigseker, Toledo Firefighters Local 92
Matthew Leach, PNC
Jocelyn Liberatore, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce
Michael Lugabihl, JT International U.S.A., Inc.
Gilda Mitchell, Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments
Jill Molnar, Metroparks Toledo
Emily Numbers, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Victor Ogundipe, University of Michigan
Clyde Phillips
Tonia Saunders, Lucas County
Joy Seifert, The University of Toledo
Lori Sheets, Woodforest National Bank
Kelley Webb, United Way of Greater Toledo
Wendy Wester, United Way of Greater Toledo
Alex Wunder, Alternative Energy Source