The Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce will welcome its 2023 Leadership Wheeling class with its first session on Tuesday, January 24. Leadership Wheeling is a long-running program put on by the Wheeling Area Chamber and aims to connect professionals with the businesses, services, and opportunities available in the community.
The 14-week program will begin with exercises in teamwork, leadership, and networking and will allow the class to get to know each other and work together. Over the course of the program the 21-member class will learn about: West Virginia State Government with a trip to Charleston; local economic development; non-profit and community development; culture, leisure and the arts; energy education; healthcare; the media; the legal system; entrepreneurial achievement; the history of the Ohio Valley; and will attend a hands-on teambuilding activity with the Wheeling Fire Department. The class will also be invited to attend the Wheeling Chamber’s February 22 Live2Lead Leadership Conference, and the Bridging Innovations statewide conference coming to Wheeling in April.
Members of the 2023 class are: Madison Dwyer (Project BEST), Laura Fabrizio (Main Street Bank), Ronna Renee Jackson (WesBanco), Phil Klein (West Virginia Northern Community College), Katie Hinerman Klug (Catholic Charities W.Va.), Kourtney Koscevic (The Health Plan), Deanna Myers (The Health Plan), CassieMinder (Wheeling Heritage), Lauren Mitchell (Oglebay), Katie Molinengo (Oglebay Institute), Sarah Morgan (Grow Ohio Valley/The Public Market), Zachary Nolte (Oglebay), John Parrish (The Wheeling Nailers), Christian Pellegrino (Regional Economic Development Partnership), Jessica Richards (United Bank), Jennifer Rohrig (West Virginia Department of Economic Development), Jordan Sengewalt (Spilman, Thomas and Battle), Eric Starkowicz (Ohio Valley Construction Employers Council), Kevin Stingle (Stingle-Inc.), Kyla-Sierra U’Ren (The Health Plan), and Sunny West (WesBanco).
“We have a very diverse class this year,” said Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce Marketing and Communications Director Laurie Conway. “I am excited to watch this group grow and become comfortable with each other. About one-third of this year’s class are Wheeling-area transplants, and this is a great opportunity for them to learn what the community is all about.”
The class will wrap up with a graduation lunch at the Wheeling Country Club in May. Applications for the Leadership Wheeling program open every November or December, and classes begin in January and run through the end of April. For more information on Leadership Wheeling or other programs offered by the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, visit www.wheelingchamber.com.