Early Friday morning, 24 mostly strangers met for the first time at Vaughan Regional Medical Center to kick off Selma-Dallas County Leadership Class of XXII.

Over the course of the weekend and year, the group will get to know each other and Selma and Dallas County well.

“I am thrilled and excited about this new class coming on board to provide positive social change to Selma-Dallas County,” said Glenn King Jr., president of the Leadership board of directors and graduate of the Class of XVII. “I think this is a great class. They come from all walks of life, all various backgrounds, and I think they’re going to be productive to Selma-Dallas County in providing change.”

The Leadership Selma-Dallas County program teaches the ins and outs of how Selma operates, from business to education to healthcare and many more areas of life. Along the way, friendships are made and ideas about how to better Selma are blossomed.

At the end of the year, the class works on a project that gives something back to the community.

Friday morning started off with breakfast and introductions, where the class and Leadership organizers had the opportunity to share a little about themselves and why they decided to participate.

Mack Wilkerson, who is employed at Lawrence Brown Service Funeral Home, said he is looking forward to the class and expanding his knowledge about the Queen City.

“I’m very excited to be here. I’m expecting to learn a lot about my community. Even though I’ve lived here all my life, I’ve been cooped up in my little community in my little area of life, and I’m hoping to expand that circle in this group,” Wilkerson explained. “I’m hoping to learn how our community works together and then see what it needs to grow from this point forward.”

Callie Nelson, the interim director of Leadership and graduate of Class XIII, said she has been excited about this class for a while now and she is thrilled to get the year kicked off.

“To hear them talk about the reasons why they came into the program and wanting to be a part of the change and what’s going to be better for Selma, just really has me hyped. It’s going to push me to make sure I give them the best experience that we can,” Nelson said. “To see them all come together, I could see a really great dynamic, I think they’re going to be a really good group that’s going to work together because I think they all came for the same common interest and that is to help move Selma and Dallas County forward.”

After breakfast, the class loaded up and carpooled one and a half hours to Columbiana to begin a retreat that will run through Saturday afternoon.

One participant, Constance Smith-Hendricks, said she was excited about the journey that lies ahead and she was looking forward to becoming a full time-citizen of Dallas County once again.

Smith-Hendricks is retiring from Auburn University in August, and although she has been away from Selma for quite some time, she said it has always been her home.

“I’m extremely excited. I find that this will be the best way to totally immerse me into the Selma-Dallas County area,” Smith-Hendricks said.

This year’s class members are Mack Wilkerson, Juanda Maxwell, Jason King, Ashley Mason, James Thomas, Theresa Smiley, Timothy Strong, Oscar Bostick, Chester Chappelle Jr., Gregory Smith, Meredith Hogg Stone, Kamau Kenyatta, Brady Bostick, Orande’ Walker, Owen Peak, James Steele Jr., Kay Averette, Robert Allen, Jonathan Barnes, Constance Smith-Henfricks, Matthew K. Norton, Zella R. Ford, Rex Jones and Cheryl Washington.