“You cannot have a first-class city with second-class citizens,” Neal said. “Selma has been struggling for a long time — there’s issues of race, issues of the haves versus the have not’s … when are we going to get over this? We have to change the mind, to change the behaviors.”

To end the program, Evans encouraged those in attendance to start with his vision of keeping the city clean — free of litter, and more aesthetically pleasing for visitors.

“The litter in our city sends a strong message,” Evans said. “Let’s build this vision — this blueprint; I think we’ll have something in 2012 we’ve never seen before (as a city).”

Leadership executive director Carolyn Powell said she appreciated the work of class 18.

“This initiative is a collaborative effort of leadership class 18 and Mayor George Evans to bring together area pastors to work on addressing community issues,” Powell said. “I applaud the efforts of class 18 for their organizational work on this breakfast …”

Evans and participating pastors will meet again Monday, Feb. 6 to continue developing the program. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. and all area pastors are encouraged to attend.