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1/16/2015 Member News
Great Lakes Bay Hispanic Leadership Institute Celebrates a Millstone Graduating It’s 6th Class

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Office of Continuing Ed & Professional Development
Saginaw Valley State University
7400 Bay Road
University Center, MI 48710
(989) 964.7489

Great Lakes Bay Hispanic Leadership Institute Celebrates a Millstone Graduating It’s 6th Class

Saginaw, MI (January 29, 2015)
- The Great Lakes Bay Hispanic Leadership Institute (GLBHLI) will welcome the newest class to complete its leadership development program during the 6th annual graduation ceremony at Saginaw Valley State University, Curtiss Hall Ballroom, Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 6 p.m. Over 350 members of the community have registered to date, to attend the graduation to celebrate our 6th anniversary and recognize the graduates hard work and commitment to their community. Matt Felan, CEO of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance, is the key note speaker for this event.

Established in 2009, the GLBHLI is a nonprofit organization that provides a forum for Hispanics to develop leadership skills, network and collaborate with individuals from all walks of life. This program is designed as a leadership identification program, with the specific goal of developing and fostering our future community leaders.

The program was built upon Cesar Chavez’ famous observation: “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community...Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” “This year’s Leadership class is a talented, energetic and diverse group of individuals who will continue to make a positive impact on this community for years to come,” says GLBHLI Director, Monica B. Reyes.

Participants in the institute, called Ambassadors, met once a month, focusing on themes that would advance ethical, diverse and collaborative leadership. Attendees also participated in leadership development sessions with some of the region’s most influential leaders in the region, such as: Matt Felan, CEO of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance, Terry Duperon of Duperon Corporation, Tom Began of Consumers Energy, Rosa Morales of the National Association of Hispanic Journalist, Dana Tell of Team One Credit Union, Dr. Mamie Thorns of SVSU, Veronica Horn of the Saginaw Chamber of Commerce, Luis Canales of Nexteer Automotive, Jeff Martin of Dow Chemical, Jimmy Greene of ABC Builders Association, Louie Garcia of MidWestTejanoRadio.com and Donald Bachand, President of SVSU, just to name a few. Specific areas of training included: leadership, identifying strengths and talents, team building, collaboration, networking, community service, economic development, education, regional economics, health care and local government. In addition, all ambassadors were required to complete 40 hours of community service with a United Way-affiliated organization. In the end, most of them went beyond these requirements.

The newest class of graduating ambassadors is: James Hernandez, Catalina Soto, Veronica Strudgeon, Melinda Moreno, Tony Olgine, Michelle Luna, Kelly Miceli, Michele Reynolds, Marina Jimenez, Sabrina Costilla, Sonia Severin, Raquel Ledesma, Alyssa Hesse, Steven Serrano, Aiden Carillo, Karli Mayer, Tony Garcia Jr.

For more information about the leadership program and sponsorship opportunities, contact Monica Reyes at [email protected]. For ticket information to the graduation ceremony, contact Jaime at 989.964.4048 or register online at www.glbhispanicleadership.org 

The graduates pictures available upon request to [email protected], through the SVSU Office of Continuing Ed & Professional Development.