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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – On Thursday, May 15, students from Montevallo Middle School were recognized at a dinner for their outstanding leadership and commitment to service.

The Leaders of Tomorrow shared their experiences and lessons from field trips and interactions with community members at a recognition dinner at the Parnell Memorial Library.

Matthew Williams, the teacher supervisor of LOT and a teacher at Montevallo Middle School, described the program and what its mission is in the Montevallo community.

“The Leaders of Tomorrow program is a program for our seventh grade students,” Williams said. “We look at students who show leadership qualities and leadership skills throughout their sixth grade year, and then at the end of the year we come together and compile a list of the students. We choose anywhere from 18 to 20 students to be in the Leaders of Tomorrow class.

“We work on different activities and games and all these different things to teach them about leadership, how to communicate and teamwork. The big thing that we do each month is we take a field trip to different places to teach them leadership and how to communicate with people in the community.”

The LOT has previously visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Shelby Emergency Assistance Food Pantry, the American Village and Montevallo’s Main Street district.

The recognition dinner was attended by LOT students and their families, as well as members of the Montevallo City Council, the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce and the Montevallo Police Department.

“After each field trip, we analyze what (the students) learned,” Williams said. “Each of the students (at the dinner) gets up and gives a speech about what they’ve learned, what they’ve enjoyed in the class and they get to practice public speaking in front of their family and leaders in the community.”

Williams spoke on how he has seen students be impacted by the program both personally and academically, noting it helps students grow confidence in themselves.

“It also teaches them to be good communicators, to work well with others and it also shows that being a leader sometimes isn’t just being the person who’s in charge,” Williams said. “I just hope they carry some of the lessons that they’ve learned. I hope they understand how to communicate with people in an appropriate manner. I hope they understand how to serve people and help the community.”

Williams concluded by expressing that the Montevallo community can continue to support the LOT by donating directly to the program, and that he hopes the program will continue to grow in the future.

“I hope the Leaders of Tomorrow program can continue to improve and try new things and go on new field trips,” Williams said. “(We’d) also love to get more people involved and get the community more involved so they can see (it) and also invest in the students. Ultimately, it’s going to benefit everybody in the community.”