The first year of the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy at Mount Pleasant High School was a great success. Chick-Fil-A of Mount Pleasant launched its first Leader Academy at MPHS on Thursday, September 19. Representatives from our local Chick-Fil-A including Owner/Operator Chuck Howard, Marketing and Community Outreach Director Melanie Knight, and Director of Operations Wendy Standridge met with founding senior members over chicken nuggets, fries, and cookies to roll out the program.

The Chick-fil-A Leader Academy empowers students to make an Impact Through Action in their local communities. Through a monthly series of videos, trainings, and meetings, MPHS students participated in Leader Labs designed to give them the practical tools needed to make a positive impact in our local community.

The group began the year in September and October with the One Million Book Giveaway. The original goal of the event was to package and distribute 150 books in the local area. The group smashed that goal by delivering and reading 750 books to every third and fourth grader in every elementary school MPISD.

In October the group began Leader Labs, a series of videos designed to teach the students leadership qualities. Topics included vision and values, servant leadership, teamwork, innovation, communication, and impact.

December was “Do Good December”. The students, over their Christmas Break, spent time at numerous assisted living homes including Heritage Park Village, Mt. Pleasant Assisted Living, and the Lodge. They helped with Christmas parties and took prizes to each facility and played bingo and other games with the residents.

In March, right before spring break, they visited the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department, donating 400 bottles of water and 280 bottles of Gatorade to get them ready for the summer heat. The students learned what leadership skills are used in the area of public service. The Fire Captain and Fire Chief shared how communication, teamwork, and servant leadership were vitally important to the functional operation of firefighting.

The IMPACT event for April was a clay-shoot competition at Clays-N-More Gun Club, a fund-raiser for Titus County Cares. The group helped with breakfast donated by Chick-fil-A, distributed water to the competitors, and assisted with lunch at the end of the event.

“Overall, our first year was a success,” said Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Advisor, David Clark. “The students learned a lot and contributed a lot as well. I’m confident the future of our community is in good hands as some of the students use the skills they learned to make Mt. Pleasant a better place to live and work. A big thank you goes out to Owner/Operator Chuck Howard, Marketing and Community Outreach Director Melanie Knight, and Director of Operations Wendy Standridge for their leadership and guidance (and food)!!”

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The inaugural Mount Pleasant High School Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy