The graduation ceremony for the Fulton County Leadership Academy Class of 2024 was Tuesday, May 21, at The Times Theater, Rochester. In the front row from left are graduates Meghan McLochlin, Jadelynn Calvert, Crystal Grossman, Ashley Mojica, Cassie Peyton, Tabitha Olivares and Emily Fishburn. In the back row are FCLA leader Jessica Riffle and graduates Christian Singleton, Timothy Kieninger, Jon Ekhoff, William Nestel and Paul Zartman. Not pictured are Lesley Bowers and Micah Bradley. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — Projects ranging from improvements at Lakeside Park in Rochester to sensory bags for children should hopefully be implemented in the future in the Fulton County area.

That’s thanks to the recent class of the Fulton County Leadership Academy. The class had its graduation ceremony Tuesday, May 21, at The Times Theater.

FCLA has existed for at least close to 20 years, according to Fulton County Purdue Extension Health and Human Services Educator and County Extension Director Jessica Riffle. This is her first year running it, with her having taken over after former Purdue Extension educator Mark Kepler retired.

The 14 members of the class of 2024 took part in regular leadership activities.

“We started the year building skills and interpersonal communication with an emphasis on team building,” said Riffle. “Each participated in a personality assessment that was connected to communication and learning styles. We talked about the nature of leadership, cultural awareness and conflict management.”

She noted the group learned more about county government and visited the Indiana Statehouse.

“So this year the program not only promoted leadership growth within these individuals, but they were also provided learning opportunities of how do you use these skills within the community,” said Riffle.

FCLA members also divided up into four groups, coming up with projects to benefit the community.

The first group which presented consisted of Emily Fishburn with First Federal Savings Bank, Tabitha Olivares with Rochester Metal Products and Crystal Grossman with Purdue Extension.

Their project was Color My Town, creating coloring books for Mentone and Akron elementary schools, which include local businesses and inform kids about the area.

The second group included Jadelynn Calvert with the Rochester Telephone Co., William Nestel with Rochester Metal Products, Cassie Peyton with Everwise Credit Union and Paul Zartman with WROI. A fifth member, Micah Bradley with Pike Lumber Co., wasn’t at the presentation.

Their project was improving Lakeside Park to make it a place where people can enjoy Lake Manitou and the beach.

The third group consisted of Jon Ekhoff with the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp., Meghan McLochlin with Rochester Community Schools and Ashley Mojica with the Kewanna-Union Township Public Library, with a fourth member, Lesley Bowers, with RTC, not present.

Their project was Fulton County Sensory Bags, giving them to first responders and other area entities to help kids with and without special needs. The bags have sunglasses, communication cards, fidget toys and more in them.

Members of the last group were Timothy Kieninger with RapidView and Christian Singleton with Renew Health Chiropractic. Their project was Supercharging Downtown, working to bring an EV charging station to the empty lot where the Fulton County Jail once sat.

After the presentations Tuesday, members received plaques.

Following the graduation, Riffle noted that class members “were so cohesive from the start and were able to build relationships with each other.”

For those who are interested in being part of the next FCLA class, information should be put out during the summer, she said.