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MEDIA CONTACT                                                                                                              Ashley Anthony

Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce

Communications Coordinator

aanthony@jacksontn.com

731.423.2200

                                                                                                           

  January 7, 2010

Winners of the Leadership Jackson Alumni Awards

Jackson, TN – Four alumni of Leadership Jackson recently received awards for their community involvement and continued support of the program.

Alton Coleman was honored with the 2009 Emerging Leader Award while Hope Cooper received the 2009 Harbert Alexander Servant Leadership Award. James Dusenberry and Doug Roth were winners of the Community Observance of Personal Excellence (COPE) Award on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center.

Leadership Jackson is the Chamber’s adult leadership development program, which began 30 years ago. Coleman, Cooper, Dusenberry, and Roth have all graduated from the program.

Below are short profiles about them.

 

Alton Coleman

The 2009 Emerging Leader Award winner Alton Coleman has served on the Leadership Jackson Alumni Board since 2007, participating in several committee and project activities.  He is the owner of Coleman Technology Solutions in Milan. In his free time, he volunteers with Relay for Life, The Salvation Army, Youth Town, and the YMCA. He also finds the time to coach his children’s football, basketball, and baseball team. He is a deacon and youth teacher at the Campbell Street Church of Christ. He has three sons with his wife, Vicki.

     

Hope Cooper

 

The 2009 Harbert Alexander Servant Leadership Award winner Hope Cooper has chaired numerous committees for the Leadership Jackson Alumni Association.  She is the marketing director of Alexander Thompson Arnold, PLLC in Jackson. She is also a board member of the Therapy and Learning Center and a member of the Women’s Health Advisory Council with West Tennessee Healthcare. She’s served as a past board member of the American Red Cross, Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce and the Jackson Cotillion Club. She also volunteers with the American Cancer Society and The Salvation Army. Cooper, her husband, Kimbrough, and son, Cole, are members of First Baptist Church, where she is involved with the Children’s Ministry Council.

 

James Dusenberry

 

The 2009 COPE Award winner James Dusenberry served as a ropes course instructor to previous classes of Leadership Jackson after he graduated. He is the community president for Regions Bank of West Tennessee. He was a commander for the United States military during four tours of combat. At the same time, he was an exchange officer and professor of leadership for two years at the French Military Academy in France. He received the Bronze Star for combat in Iraq as well as two Meritorious Service Medals. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow with the downtown Jackson Rotary Club. He serves on boards with the YMCA, Star Center, Trinity Christian Academy, and Union University. He and his wife are members of Fellowship Bible Church in Jackson, where he teaches Sunday school to high school students.

 

Doug Roth

 

The 2009 COPE Award winner Doug Roth continued to stay heavily involved in the community after graduating from Leadership Jackson. He is the vice president and regional division manager at BancorpSouth in Jackson. He is also a Madison County commissioner and a board member of the Carl Perkins Child Abuse Prevention Center, where he has chaired numerous events and committees for the organization. He serves on boards with the Ayers Children’s Medical Center, the Jackson Exchange Club, the West Tennessee Cerebral Palsy Center, and the Chamber’s youth leadership development program, Leadership University. In 2008, he received the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation Jackson Award for Volunteerism. He says he could not do all of this without the support of his wife, Michelle.

 

Leadership Jackson is designed to broaden participants’ perspectives and help them gain a better understanding of community dynamics and public issues. Each September, 30 individuals, chosen through a nomination process, begin the 12-week program that includes homework and a class project that benefits the community. For more information, visit www.leadershipjackson.com.

About the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce:

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1905 – seven years prior to the United States Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber consists of a diverse and talented staff, an executive committee, dedicated volunteers, and more than 1,400 business members – all committed to growing the economy and quality of life for everyone in Madison County and the region.

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