HISTORY

“Public leadership is not the prerogative of a few; it is the responsibility of the many.”  David Mathews

In late 1973, a group of community leaders met at the Academy for Contemporary Problems, a think-tank developed through a partnership between The Ohio State University and Battelle. There, a speaker was introduced who was the executive director of Leadership Atlanta, a program started in 1969 to address a growing need to develop emerging young leaders. The group agreed that the future of Columbus was closely tied to the commitment and expertise of its next generation of leaders. It was paramount that the quality of the actions and responses made by future leaders to a wide array of complex social and economic issues would be well informed and responsible. From that day on, Leadership Columbus joined what was to become a full fledged trend in the early 80’s known as the “community leadership movement”. Communities all across the country understood that the cultivation of leaders was an effort that could not be left to chance.

In 1974 the first class of Leadership Columbus was born. These individuals would carry with them the experiences they had shared, the solid relationships they had built, and the wisdom they had amassed during their time together in Leadership Columbus. And they would pass those things on to the generation of leaders after them, and the community would never be the same. Their course of study included not only an intense self-evaluation of their personal leadership strengths and challenges, but a comprehensive 10-month study where “Columbus became their Classroom”.

Over 2,000 community trustees have graduated from Leadership Columbus over the last 30 years.

In honor of the 30th Anniversary, the inaugural Leadership Columbus Hall of Fame Awards were presented at a milestone celebration event. These awards were created to publicly recognize and thank our graduates for their outstanding community trusteeship and notable contributions to Columbus and central Ohio.

The first five inductees are: Ahmad Al-Akhras, Ph.D., P.E., Assistant Director of Transportation, Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission; John Bickley, President and CEO, The YMCA of Central Ohio; Michael F. Curtin, Publisher, The Columbus Dispatch; Melissa Ingwersen, President, Bank One/JPMorgan Chase; and Cathy M. Lyttle, VP, Corporate Communications, Worthington Industries.