MOUNT CARMEL, Ohio — The Clermont Chamber Foundation’s LEAD Clermont Community Leadership Program welcomed its incoming class and honored a longtime nonprofit executive at its annual alumni luncheon this week at Mt. Carmel Christian Church.
The event, called LEADing Together: Alumni & New Class Luncheon, drew graduates from across the program’s history to reconnect and welcome the newest group of participants, according to the Clermont Chamber Foundation.
The incoming group, LEAD Clermont’s Class of 2027, adopted the class name “Trail Mix” as it begins a 10-month leadership curriculum, the foundation said.
LEAD Clermont has trained community leaders since 1988 under the Clermont Chamber Foundation, according to the Clermont Chamber of Commerce. The 10-month curriculum runs from August through May and includes an orientation, a team-building retreat and monthly interactive sessions, culminating in graduates committing to “The Promise,” a pledge to address community needs. Program Director Kelli Fickle leads the initiative, which the chamber says aims to build leaders who serve Clermont County “through friendship, ethical stewardship, servant leadership and bold collaboration.”
At the luncheon, the foundation presented Alida Hart, a member of LEAD Clermont’s Class of 2021, with the 2026 LEAD from the Heart Award. Hart served as president and CEO of IPM Food Pantry, which serves families throughout the Milford and eastern Cincinnati area, from 2019 until her retirement in 2024. She guided the nonprofit through construction of a new 12,000-square-foot food pantry and distribution center that opened in October 2023 and nearly doubled its capacity amid rising need. Hart was succeeded by Melissa Meyer, IPM’s current president and CEO, who presented her with the award, according to the foundation.
The luncheon also featured testimony from Kristine West-Kahl, the first recipient of a LEAD Clermont scholarship, who spoke about how the program shaped her leadership path, according to the foundation.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont Chamber Foundation.