On Wednesday, July 24, Smith County Mayor Jeff Mason graduated as a commissioned fellow of the 2023-2024 Appalachian Leadership Institute in the historic capitol city, Washington, D.C. The Appalachian Leadership Institute, or ALI, is a leadership program under the Appalachian Regional Commission, ARC. In 1963, President Kennedy formed the President’s Appalachian Regional Commission to assist in advancing legislation to bring federal dollars to Appalachia. ARC is led by two co-chairs. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee currently is the stateside co-chair, and Gayle Manchin, wife of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, is the Federal co-chair.
In September of last year, Mayor Mason was selected to participate in this program, along with 39 other Appalachians from across the 13 states and 423 counties that make up Appalachia.
The first session was in October at the beautiful New River Gorge area of West Virginia. This session covered the history of the ARC and different leadership styles.
December brought the cohort to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to discuss economic development. That area is booming with Industrial growth. It is an anchor area to the BMW auto plant located in this region. They also visited a business incubator location on steroids with manufacturing space and office space for free use by companies expanding or moving to the area.
In February, the group traveled to Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, to learn what they are doing with workforce development. They visited an old furniture manufacturing facility that had been converted into a CTE training location. In this space, school children and post-secondary education students learned about automation, industrial maintenance, tooling and machining, and robotics. Companies like Toyota use it for their onboard training for new hire employees. There was also a classroom with an ambulance box for EMT training and certification.
In March, Rome, Georgia was the location to tour their wastewater treatment facility and learn about critical infrastructure needs for growing communities.
In May, they traveled to historic Berea, Kentucky, to learn about tourism and how to grow and cultivate that market in their areas.
In June, the class visited Erie, Pennsylvania, to learn about building human capacity in our communities.
July concluded their journey as they reflected on what they learned and dug into their personal leadership styles and how they interact with other styles, culminating in Graduation.
Below are remarks from Smith County Mayor Jeff Mason.
“When I was first selected, I felt apprehensive and like a fish out of water. I looked at my fellow’s education and accomplishments and thought that, as an old country boy mayor from Smith County, Tennessee, I didn’t belong in this group!
One of the many things I learned through this endeavor is that I did belong. Though we were all individuals with different views and opinions, we all shared one common goal. That goal is to collectively work to make our communities, our states, and the whole Appalachian region better. I learned a lot about Appalachia and its struggles and ways to make it better. I also learned about myself and what I need to work on to improve as a leader. I will take some time to reflect and review all this acquired knowledge and make a plan that all of you will help me execute to make Smith County the best it can be and Jeff Mason the best he can be!
Thank you, ARC, for the opportunity to be a part of what we believe was the best group to ever be in this program. Thank you to my Smith County Government team for working with me when my travels took me out of the county. A huge thank you to my wife and kids for supporting me through this program. Thank you to my fellows for being some of the best humans I have had the opportunity to be around for the last nine months.
#leadeship looks a lot like loving people!
I love this place, and I love my job! Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be your mayor!
May God bless Smith County, and may God bless you!”
