Thirteen executives, managers, and professionals graduated Thursday from the Flagler County Local Government Leadership Academy during a ceremony at the Sheriff Rick Staly Law Enforcement Center, marking the first class in the academy’s history to include representatives from every major local government organization in Flagler County.
The graduating class brought together participants from Flagler County government, all three municipalities — Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, and Bunnell — Flagler Schools, and every constitutional office in the county, including the Clerk of Court & Comptroller, Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, and Supervisor of Elections.
This year’s graduates are: Shannon Burnett (Flagler County Board of County Commissioners), Jannet Dewberry (Flagler County Clerk of Court & Comptroller’s Office), Brian Finn (Flagler County Sheriff’s Office), Amanda Gilbert (Flagler County Board of County Commissioners), Doug Glasco (Flagler Schools), Tina Haney (Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office), Leslie Jantzen (Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office), Colleen Kuhn (City of Flagler Beach), Robert Martin (City of Palm Coast), Joe Parsons (City of Bunnell), Karen Sousa (Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office), James Walters (Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office), and Bryan Zuck (Flagler County Property Appraiser’s Office).
About the Academy
Now in its seventh year, the Flagler County Local Government Leadership Academy has earned an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties and has graduated more than 125 public servants — including elected officials, senior administrators, managers, supervisors, and other professionals from across Flagler County.
The academy is a partnership between Daytona State College, the Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office, and local governments throughout the county. Graduates receive a certificate of completion from Daytona State College. Michael Scheck, Director of the Center for Business & Industry at Daytona State College, attended the ceremony and presented the certificates.
The program is a four-month executive education course that meets weekly. Participants study leadership, human resources, budgeting, risk management, customer service, organizational culture, teamwork, program evaluation, and best practices in local government. Coursework includes extensive reading assignments, research projects, presentations, and real-world leadership exercises.
Remarks from Sheriff and Organizers
Sheriff Rick Staly addressed the graduates during the ceremony. “Leadership is not about position. It’s about influence, trust, vision, and elevating others,” Staly said. “My challenge to these graduates is to be the leaders you would want to follow.”
Dr. Joe Saviak, who taught the academy, praised the graduates’ commitment to public service. “I have over four decades of experience with local government in Florida. I could not be more impressed with the caliber and character of these graduates,” Saviak said. “They are innovative problem-solvers deeply devoted to the communities and citizens they serve. The residents of Flagler County can be grateful and proud that they heard and answered the call to devote their lives and careers to public service.”
Flagler County Tax Collector Shelly Edmonson, who coordinated the academy and hosted classes at the Tax Collector’s Office, spoke about the significance of having every local government organization represented in one class.
“We all strongly believe in investing in our teams to make sure they are the best at what they do each day for the citizens of Flagler County,” Edmonson said. “Our citizens deserve local government that is effective, efficient, responsive, and accountable. This academy helps develop the leaders who will drive innovation, solve problems, work collaboratively across organizations, and ensure we are delivering the highest quality services possible to the people of Flagler County. This historic class demonstrates what can be accomplished when every local government organization comes together to invest in leadership excellence and collaborative service to our community.”
The post Every Flagler Government Agency Now Represented as Leadership Academy Graduates Historic Class first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
