H/S Emerging Professional, Abigail Comeau, graduates with the Leadership Tangipahoa Class of 2019

Leadership Tangipahoa is for individuals interested in developing their skills as leaders, increasing their knowledge of our community, and learning what they can do to actively participate in community affairs.

Throughout the program, class sessions on various aspects of Tangipahoa Parish were held each month on topics such as City, State, and Parish Government, Social Systems, Criminal Justice, Health Systems, Education System, Hidden Treasures, and Economic Development. Sessions included lectures, simulations, group discussions, panel presentations, field trips and community projects.

During the program, the Leadership Tangipahoa Class of 2019 chose to do a Community Project benefiting one of the local systems that serves the community every day, in which they purchased two pieces of exercise equipment benefiting the Tangipahoa Council on Aging.

The mission of Leadership Tangipahoa is to “improve the quality of life in Tangipahoa Parish by training a diverse group of current and emerging leaders about the interrelationships of community systems”, and after 9 months of exploring the different aspects of Tangipahoa Parish, 22 students graduated from Leadership Tangipahoa. The Ceremony was held on June 11 at the Tangipahoa Parish School System Office in Amite with Wallace Lewis providing the keynote address.

After committing almost an entire year with this program, Abi said, “Leadership Tangipahoa has been an incredible experience that allows you to engage with local business owners and community leaders, while learning about the various systems and organizations that work together to lead this wonderful parish. The success and vision of the parish was made evident through the many places we visited, and more importantly through the wonderful people we met, who are passionate about what they do and about the future of Tangipahoa Parish.”

Since 2010, H/S has continuously participated in the Leadership Tangipahoa program by sending upcoming leaders and firm representatives, and we have had several members on staff who have participated and graduated from this program, including Architects, Pierre Theriot, Ryan Faulk and Mark Beckers; Interior Designer, Mary Guiteau; Business Manager, Robin Gray; and Emerging Professional Nick Clesi, who was also elected to be the president of the Class of 2018 by his fellow leadership members.

Committed graduates who have become trained, informed and responsible leaders are able to take the skills and knowledge learned from this program and transfer these to real community applications for continued growth.