Leadership Putnam accepting applications for its class of 2027 as the community-based program prepares to train a new group of local leaders.
Director Angie Wells said the program typically selects some 25 applicants for each cycle. Wells said the program can be eye-opening to Putnam County residents as the chamber and its members shed light on the inter workings of local and state government, as well as local businesses.
“I’m taking leaders and I’m showing them the back side of how things run in the county,” Wells said. “They are divided into groups during orientation and each group has to do a group project for the community.”
Wells said the course consists of monthly sessions held on the first Thursday of every month from August through May. Wells said each program day focuses on a specific sector, such as economic development, health care, or human needs and services.
“It helps a lot,” Wells said. “I’ve had people say I’ve lived here 30 years and I knew I never knew about that. I didn’t know that was happening. And that’s what I love to hear because I’ve shown them something that they didn’t know.”
During these sessions, the class visits local non-profits, doctor’s offices, and the Cookeville Regional Medical Center to understand how different industries operate within the county.
“Definitely state government when we went to the capitol, that’s usually everyone’s favorite,” Wells said. “Center Hill Dam when we do that, that’s an eye-opener for a lot of them because they take us to the dam but they take us like below. It’s just very interesting.”
Wells said participants must accumulate 20 points to graduate by attending various local government functions, including Putnam County Commission meetings and city council sessions. Participants also earn points by attending events hosted by the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.
Wells said the program also includes a local government day where participants meet county representatives and a state government day that involves a trip to Nashville for a tour of the capitol and meetings with state legislators. Wells said the experience often results in participants forming new friendships and professional connections with different businesses.
“Last year the class of 2025 they this group got together with Caitlyn Steakley with PEP and they actually created a cookbook and worked along with Caitlyn,” Wells said. “But they went and shopped the ingredients, they comparison-priced, they made the meals, had their spouses test them. I mean it was such a great project and they put so much work into it that now it’s going statewide.”
Wells said she is also working to revitalize the Leadership Putnam Alumni program to keep former graduates engaged with the community. Wells said she hopes to host an event in the fall to bring alumni together for a new community project.
“I kind of want them to think since they’ve gone through Leadership Putnam, they know where the need is, is something that they would come up with is what I’m hoping,” Wells said.
