By Reid Forgrave
Enquirer staff writer

AMELIA - Lynn Tetley was new to town and didn't know many people, having moved from Missouri to the quaint Clermont County village of Williamsburg to become the new village administrator.

But when she started taking leadership classes with Lead Clermont, a yearlong seminar that hones leadership skills of business and community leaders, she found a sense of community in a place she'd lived for only a few months.

"It made my transition to living here so much easier," said Tetley, who recently marked her one-year anniversary as village administrator. "It really allows somebody who isn't from Clermont County - and even somebody who is from here - to know every aspect of the county in a year. It's like a crash course in Clermont County."

On Thursday, three of the five leadership programs run by the county's Leadership Institute - Lead Clermont, Senior Leadership and Educational Leadership - celebrated graduation from their community-oriented programs.

"It helps the county directly because each of these classes take on specific community projects, proposed either by nonprofits or class members, to challenge their leadership skills and do something to improve the county," said Cynthia Macke, director of the Leadership Institute of Clermont 20/20. "There's two ways the county really benefits - through these projects and by learning to be involved, to run for school board or township trustee, things that they might not have thought of doing before."

Projects undertaken by the institute this year include increasing community awareness of the Williamsburg-Batavia Hike Bike Trail, producing an informational video touting the benefits of living and working in Clermont County, and gathering child cancer patients and their families at the Cincinnati Nature Center to discuss the challenges of battling cancer.

During the past year, the 26 participants in Lead Clermont, which started 11 years ago and evolved into the Leadership Institute, met monthly for a full day to discuss countywide topics.

Through a partnership with University of Cincinnati Clermont College, class members earn seven undergraduate credits in business leadership for participating in the yearlong class.

Other jurisdictions have similar leadership programs, including Cincinnati, Clinton County, Warren County and Northern Kentucky.

For more information about Clermont County's Leadership Institute, call 513-753-9222 or visit www.clermont2020.org.