Lakeland Business Guide 2019 Chamber Guide_2019 | Page 72
CHUCK McDANAL
Leadership Lakeland’s current chair-elect
played a pivotal role in her leadership and
eventually led her to lead this year’s class
and serve as the chair of the Lakeland
Chamber of Commerce.
“[Leadership Lakeland] is a part of
who I am now and how I got here. It’s
not just another management training
program,” says McDanal. “It connects
you in a meaningful way to other leaders
in your class, and to your community.
It touches your life and changes you.”
McDanal is chair-elect for the upcoming
Leadership Lakeland class and looks
forward to giving back to the program
that has greatly enriched his life. He
looks forward to seeing “the city again
with a new perspective and to have
an opportunity to give back what the
Chamber’s program gave to me. I can only
hope that my time as chair allows me to
have an impact on people the way mine
did, and the way Michelle is doing now.”
Leadership Lakeland has become an
established program that intentionally
invests in each leader that has the
privilege of going through a class. With
each new class, participants are not only
given deeper understanding of what exists
within Lakeland, but how they can play a
valuable role in its continued growth. As
Battle says, “We have something special,
and I believe that our city is rapidly
growing and improving due to unified
leaders that come through this program.”
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