"Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way"

When I sat down to write this blurb/blog, that title was the first thing that came to mind. I think my time as a reporter for the Hazard Herald in Perry County has been circling around my head as I've gone through the paces of getting acclimated to life at UK...

While I was working for the paper, Sen. David Williams made a bus-tour stop in Perry County to tout his campaign principles, which mostly consisted of what Steve Beshear has done wrong while he's been in office. The title of my blog was his tag-line at the time: "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way." It was his message to Beshear.

I'm quite certain that David Williams is why I don't like politicians very much. Well, him and a lot of other reasons.

Nevertheless, I constantly found myself in the presence of political leaders while I worked as a reporter. I had a private interview with the Gov. Beshear himself (before Williams came to town); I was present when Mitch McConnell made a stop in Hazard; I had daily, working relationships with local leaders in my community, including Judge-Executive Denny Ray Noble, and both the late Hazard Mayor Bill Gorman and his predecessor: his wife, Nan. I covered two different elections while at the paper, which allowed me to shake hands with several candidates: from Adam Edelen (running for State Auditor) to the now infamous Robert "Bob" Farmer (running for Ag Commissioner).

In addition to interacting with these leaders (and learning some not-so-subtle tricks of the political trade), I also interacted with local non-political leaders in my community. Everyone from community organizers from KFTC, to the executive director of the Hazard-Perry County Community Foundation, Gerry Roll, who with help from Sen. Brandon Smith got the Philanthropy Bill passed through the General Assembly. I learned a lot from Gerry about being a leader in a small community. She certainly demonstrated her passion for leading others into a brighter future.

Being a reporter for the Hazard Herald was certainly a transformative experience, which definitely taught me a lot about the inner-workings of leadership in local school boards, local politics and even in local companies.

However, I had some previous experience with leadership to help me through being a small-town reporter. I was co-president of the student organization, Feminists for Change, during my undergraduate career, as well as copy editor for the Eastern Progress. I co-organized the first ever Kentucky Environmental Journalism Conference at Eastern, in which journalists form all over the state participated.

I've also been an active member of several grass-roots organizations, including Kentucky Riverkeeper, Kentucky River Watershed Watch, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and Appalshop. Most recently, I formed a group focussing on LGBT equality in eastern Kentucky with several others, called East Kentucky Fairness.

Honestly, I don't know how I get involved with all this stuff, ha. I've never thought of myself as a leader, per se, even though I have everyone I know practically telling me that's the case. I just care about certain issues and am passionate about others and I get involved. It's never been about defining myself as a leader. It's always been more about being a member of a community of people who are all working toward a common goal, which just so happen to be goals I wish to fulfill as well.

I'm looking forward to this class, and my Master's program in CLD, because I truly believe it will help me find ways to be a better member of organizations which will help me continue my work to improve life in Appalachia. That is my ultimate goal, whether I lead the charge or not, I know learning about effective leadership will help me attain that goal.