JAMES WOOD

Staff Writer

Leadership Bedford, a program led by the Shelbyville-Bedford Chamber of Commerce, honored the graduates of its Youth and Adult Class of 2025-26 in a dinner held on April 21.

The mission of the program is to equip youth and adults with experience in community service, leadership and teamwork skills and opportunities to be involved in the county.

Members of the program met at the Bell Buckle Banquet Hall to celebrate another year of community engagement and leadership.

After successfully hosting “A Walk for Junior’s House” in March, Leadership Bedford also donated $32,000 to the Junior’s House organization to further their mission of protecting children across Middle Tennessee.

During the event, First Community Bank VP of Business Development Tina Corley, Former CFO of The Coca-Cola Company Gary Fayard and Bedford County Schools Superintendent Tammy Garrett participated in a panel and shared their advice about leadership and success.

Among the graduates in the Youth Class this year were: Kolby Allen, Ella Allen, Gavyn Anderson, Eli Collard, Hunter Collier, Abby Compton, Caroline Cook, CJ Crowell, Alayna Cruse, Delaney Curtis, Ryan Edwards, Georgia Frazier, Anna Haskins, Landon O’neal, Lucas Pendergrast, Trinity Roaden, Aidan Roberts, Nathaniel Solis, Henry Stone and Kaegan Young.

Among the graduates in the Adult Class this year were: Bruce Bennett, Hunter Forsythe, Jackie Forsythe, Ramon Gonzalez, Jeff Goodrich, Tara Groce, Valorie Hargrove, Aliyah Loyd, Angela Murphy, Betsy Noel, Jessica Osborne, Nicole Simmons, Luci Tapley, Shelby Taylor, Tracy Thurber and Tom Tunnicliffe.