HOOVER – A group of 37 Shelby County residents and business owners will gain a greater understanding of the county, its history and inner workings over the next nine months, as Leadership Shelby County kicked off its class of 2020 during an Aug. 13 breakfast at Jefferson State Community College’s Shelby-Hoover campus.

During the course of the program, the 37-member class will attend an opening retreat in early September, and will attend full-day sessions between now and the spring of 2020 to learn more about the county’s education systems, business community, health care, local and state government, economic development, justice system and quality of life.

The class also will be split up into several groups to complete projects that better their communities before unveiling their work during the May 2020 graduation ceremony.

In the past, project groups have created everything from Shelby County Mental Health Court to support groups for local nonprofit organizations.

At the breakfast, speakers included Amy Bradley, LSC class of 2014 and president of the Alumni Association; Lindsey Allison, LSC Board of Directors; and Joey Ritchey, president of LSC Board of Directors. Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Bill Bostick, a 2008 LSC graduate, served as the guest speaker for the event.

During his speech, Bostick said that LSC is about building relationships and equipping participants to make new connections. He added that the class of 2020 is called to action, and challenged the class to answer that call.

“We support you and wish you the best of luck as you spend yourselves in a worthy cause,” Bostick said.

The following members are in the Leadership Shelby County class of 2020:

Doug Adair, Alabama Wildlife Center
David Arias, Shelby Humane Society
Aimee Barnes, Merrill Lynch
Donna Bowles, KOOL 96.9 FM Radio
David Calhoun, Shelby County Board of Education
Floyd Collins, Pelham City Schools
Brad Davis, Wayne Davis Construction
Gretchen DiFante, City of Pelham
Leah Eagle, Starnes Publishing
Crystal Etheredge, City of Chelsea
Richard Fallin, Chilton Shelby Mental Health
Peter Folmar, Helena Police Department
Lynne Hamer Fountain, Children’s of Alabama
Stuart Griffin, YMCA of Greater Birmingham
John Haggard, City of Alabaster
Brandy Hamilton, Valley National Bank
Briana Harris, Shelby County Newspapers
Latanza Harrison, Alabaster City Schools
Christy Hayes, Developing Alabama Youth Foundation
Grant Howard, Boardman, Carr, Petelos, Watkins and Ogle
Tamara Lewis, Shelby County Commission
Daniel Listi, Shelby Baptist Medical Center
Bobby Madison, Alabama Power Company
Kirk Mancer, The Shelby County Chamber
Daniel McBrayer, Shelby County District Attorney’s Office
Amiee Mellon, University of Montevallo
Kyle Mims, Edward Jones
Jason Myrick, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
Stacy Rakestraw, Sky iservices LLC
Jamie Reid, Helena Vision Care
Kira Thomas, University of Montevallo
Bryant Turner, ARC Realty
Joel West, Hoover Fire Department
Jonathan Wilbourn, A.C. Legg
Casey Wilson, St. Vincent’s One Nineteen
Martina Winston, Protective Life
Trey Woodrow, Trey Woodrow Law LLC