Regional Neighborhood Leadership Forum
“Building Leadership… Sharing Success”
News Release
East Tennessee Regional Leadership Association and Nine Counties One Vision, two East
Tennessee regional organizations jointly sponsored a Regional Neighborhood Leadership Forum
on October 7, 2004 at the TVA West Tower in Knoxville, TN. Over 120 people attended the all
day event.
The morning sessions “Building People – Building Groups – Building Communities” were
facilitated by Leadership Knoxville. The sessions were: “Do Opposites Attract or Do Birds of a
Feather Flock Together?” facilitated by Avis Reid, Cile Mathews, Gracie Jones and Jean Ann
Carrigan; “Steps to a Performing Community” facilitated by Kim McClamroch, Annette Winston,
Robin Gibson and Joshalyn Hundley; and “David an Goliath in Concert” facilitated by Chris Kahn,
Rosa Mar, Marta Murrell and Tim Howell. Each session was lively, exciting and educational. By
noon all attendees were fired up for Neighborhood Leadership and ready to take on the
challenges in their home communities throughout the East Tennessee region.
Joe Johnson, President Emeritus, University of Tennessee spoke on “Thoughts on Leadership” to
a packed room enjoying a lunch together from surrounding counties, cities and communities in
East Tennessee. Dr. Johnson defined Leadership as “Make good things happen” and he began
his talk by referring to himself as having been Andy Holt’s “able and affable assistant” who
frequently was given the task to fill in for Dr. Holt when he was unable to attend functions where a
speech was expected. He also claimed to have flunked retirement and thus served 39 years at
UT instead of his intended 38. He cited great leadership resources such as: “Sayings and Advise
of Yiddish Grandmothers” with such sage advice as “A meowing cat can not catch a mouse”; “If
you stay at home you will not wear out your shoes…get out and get involved”; and “A little charm
and you are not ordinary…smile and be friendly.” He also quoted simple but effective leadership
rules he learned from Andy Holt: “Surround yourself with good people who are more talented than
you and then turn them loose…but quietly check on them. If they need correcting, do it in private
and praise them often in public.” From Chester Bernard he cited three statements: 1. “To be an
effective leader one must realize that all authority is bestowed by those who work with and for
you;” 2. “If you have to give many orders, you are in trouble;” and 3. “Don’t ever write a letter or email until you have set with the person and worked out the issue and then send the letter or email to thank them.” Dr. Johnson ended by saying there are two sentences that if sincere will
carry you a long way: 1. “Thank you” and; 2. “I am sorry.”
Edye Ellis, co-chair of Nine Counties One Vision, moderated a panel discussion after lunch that
included four success stories from our region. 1. Geoff Wolpert “A grassroots project for positive
change and community involvement;” 2. Marisa Anders and Kim Large “You can’t get there from
here – Building a Road”; 3. Carol Scott “Community involvement with civic leaders and law
enforcement”; and 4. Dwight Murphy “ Special initiatives in a rural environment.”
Each of the afternoon panelists described their special leadership effort in the community. The
Gateway Foundation of Gatlinburg as described by Geoff Wolpert excited the audience by
demonstrating the power of sustained community involvement. The Knoxville Police Advisory
Review Committee as overviewed by Carol Scott cited the dramatic turn around of a very
negative atmosphere in Knoxville a few years ago after six deaths in six months into what is now
one of the most positive community action experiences in the nation. She is seen as a resident
expert in community and police relations and has been asked to speak to national audiences.
Dwight Murphy spoke about the Scott-McCreary Enterprise Community and caused many in the
audience to wonder why such cooperation and teamwork among community leaders cannot be
had in their own community (of course the answer might be there is only one Dwight Murphy!). A
highlight of his talk was the high ACT scores of Oneida High School and the recently
implemented random drug screening program for youth. And last, Marisa Anders and Kim Large
told the bold and courageous story of a Leadership Claiborne class who determined to “Build a
Road” and are doing it! Such a brave and enormous undertaking left the audience in awe of the
Sponsored by
East Tennessee Regional Leadership Association
& Nine Counties. One Vision. Neighborhood Task Force
Regional Neighborhood Leadership Forum
“Building Leadership… Sharing Success”
group of local leadership graduates who through a long and arduous process determined the
thing most needed in their community was a road that cut the travel time from one hour and forty
five minutes to only forty minutes to go from the county seat of Tazewell to Clairfield, a
community in western Claiborne County. They ended by saying that “Great groups are both
optimistic and naïve. The name for the new road just may be “The Leadership Way!”
Last on the program was the presentation of the Bob Gonia Leadership Awards which were
presented to individuals in each of the counties or cities represented who have gone beyond the
normal expectations in the area of community leadership. Bob Gonia, a well-respected
community leader who was the founding director of the East Tennessee Regional Leadership
Association before his death has left an inspiring memory and each person who received the
award in his honor knows that their peers recognize in each of them the type of leadership that
Bob Gonia represented.
The Regional Neighborhood Leadership Forum “Building Leadership… Sharing Success” closed
a resounding success! The communities in our region working together can accomplish much as
described by the success stories heard and seen on this day in Knoxville’s TVA West Tower.
Each of us can be Neighborhood Leaders, if we don’t (as the Yiddish Grandmothers would say)
“stay at home an not wear out our shoes” but rather get out of the house and get involved in our
communities producing the kind of positive change the Gatlinburg Gateway Foundation, The
Leadership Project to build a road in Claiborne County, the Knoxville Police Advisory Review
Committee and the Scott-McCreary Enterprise Community are producing. If you are interested in
Leadership in your community, get in touch with your local Leadership program or look up the
Nine Counties One Vision task force that is working on an issue you feel strongly about and GET
INVOLVED IN NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
Sponsored by
East Tennessee Regional Leadership Association
& Nine Counties. One Vision. Neighborhood Task Force