Leadership Division

Chamber Champions is a youth leadership development program that informs, motivates, and increases the awareness of selected high school juniors through interaction with community leaders.  The program is an investment in the community’s future leadership.  These students must be nominated by their teachers and principals and approval must come from school administration and each student’s parents.  Students are selected based on a genuine interest in learning leadership skills, working together as a team, and showing leadership in school and community activities.  It is important to have a cultural balance with students from diverse backgrounds to build individual leadership skills, foster positive group dynamics and increase civic and community involvement while creating youth development and youth leadership. 

Since the first graduating class in 2015, more than 175 students have successfully completed the program.  Chamber Champions Youth Leadership program is an initiative targeting juniors.  Participants are chosen based on a list of criteria set forth by the Leadership Development Division.  The youth initiative keeps a similar focus as the chamber, which is private sector support, growth, and jobs and preparing students for the private sector.  The program supplies educational and firsthand experience to expose students to these realms.

Through a series of sessions combining lectures and tours, students learn about such topics as: Area business men and women are involved and help host and/or teach the modules which include: Understanding Leadership, Communicating Effectively, Appreciating Differences, Building Teams, Managing Conflict, Setting Goals and Making Decisions, Mapping Your Community, Exercising Leadership.  Chamber Champions is a collaboration between the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce, and   curriculum-based leadership skills training utilizing materials from the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development.