Leadership Belleville Education Day Recap and Class Spotlight Members
The 2020 Leadership Belleville Class took part in their first class in October themed around Education.
The day began at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville with breakfast and a panel discussion on the current issues affecting education. Participants included Robert Tebbe, Executive Director of Enrollment Development and Institutional Planning at Southwestern Illinois College; Brian Mentzer, Assistant Superintendent at Belleville High School Dist. #201 East; Ryan Boike, Superintendent at Belleville Grade School District #118; Greg Lieb, Athletic Director at Althoff Catholic High School; Mark Eichenlaub, Assistant Superintendent at St. Clair County Regional Office of Education; and Stacey Louderman, Principal at St. Clair County Safe School.
Following the panel discussion, the class traveled to Abraham Lincoln Elementary School. While there, they spent time with the students and participated in Peace Circles that focused on Leadership. The group then enjoyed lunch with some of the students and met with staff to discuss both the good things happening and the challenges faced by educators today. This stop was definitely the highlight of the day. Finally, the group traveled to Belleville West for a student panel and tour with principal Richard Mertens.
Thank you to our day planners:
Tracy Gray, Belleville Grade School District 118, Class of 2015
Lynn Selden, St. Clair Country Club, Class of 2017
To learn more about the Leadership Belleville Program, click here.
I am a Marketing Associate at The Esquiline, a Life Plan Community at the Shrine in Belleville, IL. So far in my Leadership Belleville experience I have attended the two-day retreat and Education Day! The retreat was a great way to kick off the nine-month program because it allowed us the opportunity to break the ice as a class. We come from various walks of life, but all have a common goal: to make an impact. It was eye-opening to see such different industries represented! Education Day was our first field trip day and hearing from Education Administrators, teachers, and the kiddos themselves who make up the Belleville school district was incredibly valuable. This has been a great experience and I am better for meeting these exceptional leaders. I look forward to learning more about the Belleville community in the coming months.
I am currently the Investor Relations Advisor with the St. Louis Regional Chamber. I feel so fortunate to be a part of Leadership Belleville’s 2020-2021 class. The retreat in
September allowed our class to grow as individuals and as a group. We felt comfortable to open up both personally and professionally, which helped set the foundation to build on our leadership skills throughout the rest of our journey together. Education day in October made me proud of all the offerings and innovations happening within both private and public Belleville schools. I am looking forward to the rest of the year, and I’m grateful for the Belleville Chamber of Commerce for offering this opportunity to those that live and work in the Belleville area.
As a current active duty member stationed at Scott AFB, I feel very fortunate that my senior leaders selected me and granted me the time away from work to be part of this program. So far, we’ve had the get-acquainted breakfast, the two-day retreat, and the education day. All three of those events were extremely fun and educational, always a great combination. The facilitators for the program, Jim, Jim, and Lynn, are all great and provide wonderful activities and thought experiments that push us to arrive at agreement and solutions. My 18 classmates are all wonderful, and we always look forward to seeing each other again. I’m very grateful to be part of a community that invests in their young, future civic leaders, and I look forward to forging even stronger bonds with this community and my classmates. Thanks for the opportunity.
