Members of the 2006 Leadership class are (back row, from left) Stewart Tritt, Charles Voss, James Evans, Ed Ellington, Bryant Nichols, Daniel Thornton; (front row, from left) Brent Porterfield, Marilyn Maxwell, Becky Overton and Tom Philipp. Not pictured is Kim Fisher.

Leadership graduates Class of 2006

The Brownsville County Club was all a “buzz” Thursday night, March 23, 2006, as Leadership Haywood County presented its 2006 Leadership graduates. At the dinner in their honor, eleven future leaders received their certificates of completion and well wishes from the Leadership Haywood County Board of Trustees, local government officials and chamber members. Leadership President Kathy Ward opened the evening by reading a bio of each member. When it was time for the class to take over, they presented programs on their leadership project, C.O.P.E., and recited poems. The poems depicted the four seasons in Brownsville and Haywood County and included mention of everything from cotton lint to bumble bees. Those present enjoyed the antics of the class and also the camaraderie that has developed among them. Mayor Webb Banks presented his annual “Thinking Outside the Box” Award to Brent Porterfield. Porterfield was nominated by his class and thanked them for the “opportunity as a newcomer to get to know people and learn about the community.” Porterfield was also chosen to be the newest member of the Leadership Haywood County Board of Trustees. He will begin serving in July. Chamber Director Joe Ing presented graduates with their certificates.

The 2006 Leadership Haywood County graduates are listed below, along with a short bio of each member:

As warehouse manager Ed Ellington is responsible for shipping, warehousing, fleet operations and traffic at Haywood Company/Teknor Apex. He has lived in Haywood County for fifty years. Ed is married to Patricia and is the father of three: Sandra, Tim and Jason. Ed has also been involved in the Emergency Management Agency. He graduated from Haywood High School. He was awarded the Bill Hyder Award from the Emergency Management Agencies of the State of Tennessee.

As supervisor at Haywood Company/Teknor Apex, James Evans manages clerical responsibilities. He has lived in Haywood County his entire life. James is married to Vickie and they have three children, Marquette, Kevin and Brandon. James is involved at the M.B.C. Church Community where he is a devotion leader. He attended Jackson State Community College.

Kim Fisher is sales assistant to Bob Bond, Community President at First South Bank. In her job she deals with non-deposit investment products and customer service. She is married and has one child, Justin, 20. She is active in our community Relay for Life and the United Methodist Women’s Organization. She is a native of Haywood County, graduated from Haywood High School and has a lot of accounting, banking, business law and judicial procedures experience.

Marilyn Maxwell is Marketing and Energy Services Coordinator for Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Cooperative. Her duties include developing and implementing community relations activities and assisting in strategies designed to help the understanding of cooperative policies, programs, services, rules and activities. She and her husband, John, have two children, Katie, 23 and Jesse, 20. Marilyn’s background and training is in marketing and accounting from Dyersburg State. She is very involved with her community, church, and loves to sing.

Bryant Nichols is Detective Sergeant in charge of the Brownsville Police Department’s Narcotic Division. He is assigned to the West Tennessee Violent Crime Task Force. He has served as president and is still a member of the Fraternal Order of Police. He attended Dyersburg State Community College and graduated from Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in 1996. He is married to Tracey and has three children: Brooke, 9; Logan, 2; and a newborn.

At Insouth Bank, Becky Overton is the supervisor of Customer Service. She has lived in Haywood County for twenty-six years. Becky is married to Brownsvillian, David Overton, and they have two children, Nathan and Anna. She is involved at the Union Grove Methodist Church and the Tenth Review Club. Becky attended Jackson State Community College.

Tom Philipp has been with MTD/Cub Cadet almost two years. He is the manufacturing manager. His responsibility is the Welding Department. He lives in Brownsville, loves to play golf and hunt.

Brent Porterfield is the minister at Union Grove and Marvin’s Chapel United Methodist Churches. He has served as president, vice- president and treasurer of the Jackson Jaycees, served as project chair for the Optimists International and has served as director for International Missions. Wayne has two children, Mary,29, and Emily,24. Wayne has a B.S. Degree from Southwest Missouri State University and is a graduate of Southern Methodist University. He is a newcomer to Brownsville and looks forward to getting involved with his new community.

Daniel Thornton is a dispatcher for Southwest TN Electric Corporation. He handles all customer questions and outages. He then relays the information to the work crews that are on stand-by. He has lived here all his life and is very active with his church youth group. Daniel is a District 7 emergency volunteer and a member of the Brownsville Haywood County Rescue Squad. He is also a West Tennessee National Softball Association Director, a member of the Army National Guard and works with the WIA Out of School Youth program. He attended our local schools, Jackson State Community College and Tennessee Real Estate Education School. (He is an affiliate broker with Richards/Cummins Real Estate) He belongs to the Business Professionals of America. He’s an Alumni of Haywood County Youth Leadership and the Washington Youth Tour Group.

Stewart Tritt is owner of TN Concert Sound and Briley House and Farms. He also is the Financial Officer for Zion Gin and General Manager of Custom Pallet Mfg. He is married and has six children: Morris, 13; Katherine, 11; Elizabeth, 8; Thomas, 5; David, 3; and a newborn. He has lived in Haywood County all his life and attends Zion Baptist Church.

Charles Voss is responsible for scheduling all customer, warehouses and personal orders requiring barcodes on their product. He maintains RMC and BC forecast year round. He is a certified nuclear weapons specialist from the United States Navy. He has numerous commendations from his 4-year active duty and 7 year Reserve duty with the Navy. He has also attended the University of Memphis. He has lived in Brownsville for the past 30 years, is a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, Macedonia Baptist Church and the U.S. Navy Reserves.