Thirty-eight Blount County professionals completed Leadership Blount’s flagship program last week, capping a year of immersive community education and hands-on service projects that touched everything from suicide prevention to caregiver support to child advocacy.
Founded in 1990 as a partnership between the Blount County Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Blount County, Leadership Blount has spent more than three decades cultivating community leaders. The nonprofit’s mission, as Executive Director Pete Carter puts it, is “strengthening our community by educating and inspiring current and emerging leaders to engage in active, lifelong service.”
Carter, a member of the program’s first graduating class in 1991, called this year’s cohort exceptional from the start.
“We knew during our retreat these folks are going to work with each other pretty well,” he said. “And that’s what they did all year long.”
This year’s class divided into six small groups, each tasked with identifying a community need and addressing it. The results spanned a broad swath of Blount County’s nonprofit landscape.
One group, dubbed Special Ops, secured an ADA-accessible picnic table for Special Growers after class member Michelle Collins persuaded a Michigan-based manufacturer to deliver the $1,200 table for $250.
“When they saw the video link and watched the story of Special Growers, they said, ‘We don’t know how we can’t help you,'” Collins said.
Another group tackled suicide prevention through QPR training sessions led by Scott Payne.
Group member Jenni Bryant of Smith Funeral & Cremation Services explained how working on this small group project deepened her relationships and understanding of this community.
“It was nothing like I expected,” Bryant said. “We made lifelong friends in this class. We learned more about Blount County than I ever thought I would know.”
A third group hosted a free, full-day caregiver training event at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church for families coping with dementia, partnering with Senior Care Partners of East Tennessee and drawing on curriculum from the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers. Participants received free books, lunch and respite support so they could attend.
Additional projects included a digital wellness initiative warning parents about social media risks, Open Your Closet, Open Doors — a professional clothing drive supporting Helen Ross McNabb’s new transition center for people re-entering the workforce — and Bringing New Hope to Blount County, a traveling art installation supporting New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center.
That final project, led in part by Maryville artist Pinkie Mistry, features a base painting by Mistry adorned with leaves painted by children who have moved through New Hope’s program. A plaque and QR code invite donations. The piece will rotate through local businesses to increase awareness of New Hope’s mission. The rotation will begin at Bella in downtown Maryville this summer.
“There’s been over 200 kids that’s been through there from January 2026 to March 2026,” Mistry said of the non-profit that provides services and support to children who’ve been abused. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how many children go through that program every year.”
For class member Tyler Thomas of SmartBank, the year delivered both education and connection.
“Everybody showed up that day as acquaintances, but when you left, it definitely felt more like a family,” he said.
Nominations for the Class of 2026-27 open Jan. 15.
