Leadership Dalton-Whitfield

Purpose & Goal: 

Leadership Dalton-Whitfield is a program of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce which builds and strengthens a better community through training it leaders for the challenges of tomorrow. The program began in 1986 and now has 1,305 graduates. The purpose and goal of Leadership Dalton-Whitfield is to develop informed leaders and channel their ideas and experiences toward community resources, issues, and concerns to help direct the future of Dalton and Whitfield County. This goal is achieved by programs, informal discussions and participatory experiences.

Who Can Participate:

The Leadership Advisory Committee solicits and reviews applications for the program. Participants are those who have been identified as having an interest in the community and a sincere commitment to making Dalton and Whitfield County a better place to work and live. Participants are chosen to represent the occupational and demographic diversity in the community. No age limit is observed when selecting the program participants.

The Curriculum: 

The curriculum includes a mandatory retreat in late August, one full day session per month from September through April (excluding December) and a commencement activity in May. Each program concentrates on a specific area of the community using panel discussions, speakers, special presentations, and participatory experiences. A homework assignment is to be completed prior to each session and usually takes approximately two hours to complete.

Session Topics: 

A variety of topics are covered throughout the program and will include sessions on the education system, local government and our state government, the judicial system, local economics, quality of life, and medical services. All sessions will incorporate volunteer opportunities.

The Cost:

The tuition for Leadership Dalton-Whitfield is $1,200.00, which includes all retreat expenses, meals at the monthly sessions, program materials, and transportation to the retreat and state government session. Limited scholarships are available. For additional program information, contact Phyllis Stephens at 706-712-0951 or by email: stephens@daltonchamber.org

Attendance requirements:  

The Kick-Off Retreat is mandatory and participants are allowed to miss up to two sessions in order to graduate from the program. If a participant misses more than two sessions, they will not be able to graduate until those sessions are made up and attended the following year.

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