Since 1986, the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Killeen program has provided participants unparalleled opportunities to become more knowledgeable and involved in the Killeen community. The purpose of this program is to engage community leaders with business leaders to produce a shared vision toward our community’s future.
Leadership Killeen is designed to identify, educate and motivate community and business leaders about the various elements of local and state governments, as well as quality of life foundations for the Greater Killeen area. During the program, participants are given the opportunity to make a difference in our community by identifying an area of need through a group project.
This program meets monthly at various hosted locations. The class includes a curriculum with focuses on Fort Hood, Education, Quality of Life, Healthcare, Business & Economic Development and both Local and State Government. The monthly sessions combine information, problem solving and leadership development. Our Chamber staff partners with Jim Bondi, Chief of Plans, Analysis, & Integration at US Army Garrison, Fort Hood to conduct the monthly classes.
The 2015-2016 class graduated on May 11th and the following Chamber Members had one registered participant: Chick-fil-A Killeen, First Texas Bank, Carlson Law Firm, Kidz Therapeez, Killeen Independent School District, Emancipet Killeen, AYADD- Adolescents, Young Adults, Drinking and Driving, W&B Development, Metroplex Health System, Central Texas College, Bigham Kliewer Chapman & Watts. Non-member Gold Medal Rentals also had one participant. The City of Killeen and First National Bank Texas had 3 registered participants each.
The class had a total of five group projects. The titles of the group projects were “Cook Smart Cooking Class,” “Your Career Starts Here,” “Book Drive Supporting Peebles Elementary School,” “Be the Solution, Help Stop Pollution” and “Downtown Killeen: Past, Present & Possibilities”.
The group that was involved in the “Cook Smart Cooking Class” created a healthy cook book and scheduled a cooking class at Central Texas College’s Culinary School in March 2016. The success of the project prompted Metroplex Hospital to host one class each semester that will focus on different health topics such as gluten free foods, cholesterol, fats and so forth.
Shante Jones, 2015-2016 Leadership Killeen Class graduate from Kidz Therapeze, had this to say about the program: "Leadership Killeen opened my eyes! This class has taught me so much not only about my community, but about myself and growing in the world of business. Mr. Bondi and his team made sure that we had great leaders in front of us at each meeting. In the Leadership Killeen Program, I walked in one person and walked out a completely different person. Life changing!"
For more information regarding Leadership Killeen or to request an application for the Leadership Killeen 2016-2017 class, please contact Heather Nusbaum at 254-526-9551 or heather@killeenchamber.com. Registration costs $450 for Members and $500 for non-members. All applications will be reviewed before approval.