Leadership Albany held its graduation ceremony for the Class of 2015-16 on Thursday, May 12 at the Kirkland Conference Center on the campus of Albany Technical College (1704 S. Slappey Boulevard).  The event began at 5:15 p.m. with fellowship and social time, and the Annual Meeting and Commencement followed at 6:30 p.m.
 
Leadership Albany also presented its annual Ed Freeman Outstanding Alumni Award during the evening, which recognizes a program graduate who has made significant contributions to the betterment of our community.  Luke Flatt, 2014 recipient presented the award for 2016 to Mayor Dorothy Hubbard.  Several organizations or programs associated with Leadership Albany were also recognized for anniversaries or milestones – Generation Success, Dougherty Leadership Development Institute and Albany/Dougherty KADB.
 
Leadership Albany was established in 1984 for the purpose of identifying and developing leaders in the Albany area by exposing them to issues confronting the community, informing them about institutions in the community, and providing a forum for the class participants to better know each other.  Over the past 31 years, Leadership Albany’s hundreds of graduates have gone on to serve the community in a variety of ways as elected officials, Board members, and volunteers.
 
The 2015-16 graduating class includes the following members:
 
Tina Battle, Georgia Legal Services; Karen Baynes-Dunning,  attorney/consultant; Jeff Cooley, Marine Corps Logistics Command; Michele Coney, Mars Chocolate; Tonya Curles, Darton State College; Hal Gobin, Marine Corps Logistics Command; Dominique Hall, Dougherty County Board of Commissioners; Reedi Hawkins, Albany Dougherty Economic Development Commission; Jay Montgomery, Prime Tech International; Charlice Noble-Jones, Dougherty County School System; Damali Orozco, Procter & Gamble; Jeretha Peters, SunTrust Bank; William Peterson, Phoebe Putney; Matt Reed, Georgia CEO; Steven Ramey, Albany Area Primary Healthcare; Heidi Roe, Marine Corps Logistics Command; Izzie Sadler, SOWEGA Council on Aging; Daniel Stone, SB&T/Synovus; Geoffrey Sudderth, Deerfield Windsor School; Jacquelyn Teemer, City of Albany; and Nicole Williams, Albany Area Arts Council.