After nine months of everything from visiting area tourist attractions to learning about economic development, members of Leadership Muskogee Class XV received their plaques and congratulations Friday.

Now, their work begins to take what they have learned to help the community, promoters and supporters said.

“You’re put in a position where you can learn leadership skills and communication skills and apply them,” State Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, said at the class’ graduation luncheon, held at The River Center at Three Forks Harbor.

Faught said he appreciated their attendance in the classes.

“Sometimes you are put in circumstances in which you are not prepared for,” he said.

He told the fable of the boy throwing beached starfishes back into the water. When challenged that the boy isn’t making much of a difference considering all the starfishes that are beached, the boy throws a starfish into the water and said “I made a difference to that one,” Faught said.

Class XV participants said the all day Leadership sessions, held once a month over nine months, made a difference in their professional lives.

“They were all-day classes, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” said Mike Stephens of Love Bottling. “We went to the State Capitol to watch bills be enacted, we went to tourist attractions. We learned team building skills.”

“We learned networking, too,” said Steve Perry of Oklahoma Natural Gas. “I met with people I might not have otherwise met. That’s actually become helpful.”

Perry said he networked with class members who were pharmacists, distributors, radio station workers, bankers, librarians.

“What I got was not only great contacts, but more importantly, I got a better perception of what the Chamber of Commerce is doing in the community,” said Clancy Stone of Muskogee’s Georgia-Pacific plant. “It opened my eyes to what the local government and state government are doing.”

She said she has become a stronger leader.

“It forced me to work with people I might not otherwise have crossed paths with every day,” she said.

Lana Reed, small business coordinator for Indian Capital Technology Center, said the program “gives each participant time for self-reflection and learning leadership styles.”

Even before they ate a lunch catered by Jasper’s Catering, participants had activities to do. They cut pictures from magazines or drew pictures to create an “emotional self-portrait.”

Reed, who drew hers, said she drew a home in the center to depict her family, “and as the picture expands, I have things I am involved with.”

Whalen read a statement: “You have started a journey to become leaders. I challenge you to find that one thing you are passionate about and contribute to the community.”

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 684-2928 or cspaulding @muskogeephoenix.com.