Keynote speaker, Steve Dennis, had guests close out the welcome presentation with a motivational exercise.
On Oct. 13, the Cartersville campus hosted the third annual “Charge Into Leadership” conference. This conference invited others to listen and speak with community leaders who have careers in entrepreneurship, politics and education.
Keynote speaker Steve Dennis, an international entrepreneur and life coach, mentioned the importance of knowing and understanding self-leadership skills.
Keynote speaker, Steve Dennis, shared a piece of advice he received from his uncle. “He said to me when I was 19 years old, always keep an ace in the hole. Basically, what he meant was learn how to do more than just one thing with your life.”
“I want to talk to you today about how to be a real success, and what I mean by a real success is that we understand it is not a destination, but a journey,” Dennis said. “The most powerful words you will ever utter are to yourself, about yourself when you are by yourself.”
Following the welcome presentation, guests broke out into sessions to hear from different faculty members and speakers from the entrepreneurship or ‘Women in Leadership’ panels.
In the beginning of the ‘Women in Leadership’ panel, the topic of support in leadership roles was the center of discussion.
“I find myself often referring to my team as truly the people who are doing all of the good work, and I would just say they inspire me daily to do better,” Dean of Atrium Health Floyd School of Health Sciences, Lisa Jellum said.
Dean of Business and Professional Studies, Melanie Largin said, “I think that’s really a tremendous aspect of when you get into a leadership position. Finding those people who are in your support group on a day-to-day basis that will forgive you when you do things wrong and support you when you do things right.”
A few minutes before the entrepreneur panel began, the speakers shared when they realized they would pursue their current career paths.
Brandon McCrimmon, IT Director of Fidelity National Information Services Aaron Perry, President of Renegade Lemonade Alexandra Reiter, Brunswick Mayor Cosby Johnson, Ora Teahouse + Bakery owner Trista Sanford, MJK Cleaning Services owner Michelle Douglas.
“I knew at a very young age that I had politically called parents, so I just grew up in politics my whole life,” Mayor Cosby Johnson said. In 2022, Johnson became the second African American to hold the title of major in Brunswick, Georgia.
IT Director of Fidelity National Information Services, Aaron Perry said, “I’ve always been inquisitive with a very keen sense for technology and how it can be incorporated into our lives to make them better.”
“I’ve cleaned for over 10 years so now I have a cleaning business, but I never really thought that was something I wanted to do,” MJK Cleaning Services owner, Michelle Douglas said. “I actually didn’t know until two years ago when I went to Georgia Highlands for business management.”
During the panel, each shared the different paths they took and the experiences they had along the way, including challenges and setbacks.
“Get used to hearing ‘no’,” former Associate Professor of Communications and President of Renegade Lemonade, Alexandra Reiter, said about the beginnings of the wine business she owns with her husband.
Associate Professor of Business Administration, Shankia Wright-Turner, commented on how the conference’s attendance and the amount of speakers has increased each year. “I am a person who is really big on keeping relationships and friendships intact,” Wright-Turner said.