1/30/2008

Chattanooga, Tennessee - Beverly P. Johnson, Administrator, Department of Neighborhood Services and Community Development, is pleased to announce the second class of the Neighborhood Leadership Institute. A partnership between the Department of Neighborhood Services and Community Development and Chattanooga State Technical Community College, the Neighborhood Leadership Institute seeks to strengthen leadership in the community by providing skills training to leaders and potential leaders of neighborhood groups and community organizations.

In 2007, the inaugural year of the Neighborhood Leadership Institute, 26 leaders of Chattanooga’s neighborhood organizations and community groups graduated from the program with strengthened skills and new partnerships.  Graduate Briston Smith spoke last fall about the Neighborhood Leadership Institute, “This class has been like a blueprint on how to run an effective association.”

Training sessions planned include Effective Communication, Conflict Resolution, Funding Application and Project Management, and Strategic Planning among others. Classes will begin with an orientation in March and end with a recognition ceremony at the 10th Annual Neighborhoods and Codes Conference on October 10, 2008, where a joint certificate from the City of Chattanooga and Chattanooga State Technical Community College will be awarded to those completing the course.

Participants in the Neighborhood Leadership Institute must be an active member of a neighborhood association or community organization, or in the process of starting a new group inside the city limits of Chattanooga. Three (3) community members from each council district will be chosen by an independent selection committee, for a total of 27 participants. A required fee of $35 for each participant will cover instruction for all 8 class sessions and materials needed.  Anyone interested in participating should request an application from the Department of Neighborhood Services and Community Development by calling (423) 425-3700. Applications, as well as more information, may also be obtained from the Department of Neighborhood Services and Community Development website http://www.chattanooga.gov/86_NeighborhoodServicesandCommunityDevelopment.htm

The deadline to submit an application is March 14, 2008.

For more information about this press release, contact Jill Murphy at (423) 425-3735.

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