Four guest speakers will be featured Sept. 27 when the Freed-Hardeman University School of Business hosts its annual Leadership Summit in Ayers Auditorium, according to Dr. Keith Smith, dean of the School of Business. The four, who represent the judicial and legislative branches of government, a non-profit organization, and private industry, will discuss four different areas of leadership.
Lowell Guthrie, owner of Trace Die Cast, Inc., Bowling Green, Ky., will discuss “Leadership in Business” at 8:45 a.m. A 25-year veteran of Ford Motor Company, he founded Trace Die Cast, a supplier of high quality aluminum die casting components for the automotive industry, in 1988. He is currently a member of the University of North Alabama Foundation Board of Directors. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of Bowling Green Technical College. He has served as the chairman of the Bowling Green/Warren County Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Federal Reserve Advisory Board 8th District. President George Bush appointed him to the President’s Council on the 21st Century Workforce. In 1991, he was named the Entrepreneur of the Year in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
Frank McMeen, president of West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation, will discuss “Personal Leadership” at 9:45 a.m. West Tennessee Healthcare now has assets of $20 million. Last year, it raised more than $8.2 million to benefit the West Tennessee community. An alumnus and former vice president of Freed-Hardeman, McMeen is active in Jackson civic affairs. He is a past chairman of the Jackson’s Historical Zoning Commission and past president of the Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Aspell Recovery Center. McMeen, who also holds a master’s degree from the University of Memphis, serves as an adjunct professor for the university.
Judge Larry McKenzie will deliver the chapel address at 10:30 a.m. His topic will be “Leadership in the Home.” A Henderson attorney, McKenzie is the General Sessions Judge and Juvenile Judge for Chester County. He is licensed in the following courts: Federal District Court, Southern District of Texas; United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; United States Court of Claims; United States Tax Court; and Federal District Court, Western District of Tennessee. As a self-employed attorney, his practice includes real estate title examinations, real estate closings, and probate and administration of estates. He is also an agent for Old Republic Title Insurance Company.
State Senator Dolores Gresham, Somerville, will speak at 11:20 a.m. on “Leadership in Government.” Currently serving her first term in the Tennessee Senate, she has served three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. As chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Gresham coordinated the Governor’s “First to the Top” legislation which resulted in Tennessee’s being named a winner in the federal government’s “Race to the Top” competition. She also serves on the Senate Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture Committee and the transportation committees. Gresham represents the eight counties of the 26th district in Southwest Tennessee. She is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps.
Dr. Jim Edmonds, FHU assistant vice president for institutional effectiveness, will moderate a panel discussion on “Leading in Tough Economic Times.” The four guest speakers will comprise the panel. They will answer questions submitted by students.
“We have invited speakers with a wealth of diverse expertise,” Smith said. “We believe the sessions will be valuable not only to our students, but also to business and community leaders in the West Tennessee area.”
The public is encouraged to attend any or all of the sessions; pre-registration is not required. Additional information may be obtained by calling 731-989-6091.
Click here to download a copy of the Leadership Summit Schedule.