Waco Chamber CEO to Discuss 'Leadership in Private Enterprise'

by Rebekah Hardage, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

Baylor University's Academy for Leader Development and Civic Engagement will host James G. Vaughan Jr., President and CEO of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, in the Blume Conference Center on the 5th floor of Cashion Academic Center in Baylor's Hankamer School of Business.

As the first speaker in the Leadership Lecture Series for the spring semester, Vaughan will discuss "Leadership in Private Enterprise."

Vaughan has served as the President and CEO of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce since 2004 and has made economic and quality of life improvements his priorities.

Vaughan's "Challenge Greater Waco" economic development plan was adopted in 2005. Vaughan played a key role in bringing 1300 jobs to the area through a project with Sanderson Farms, which was one of the largest economic development in the area's history.

Vaughan is a graduate from Florida State University and is a certified chamber executive and an accredited public relations professional.

Vaughan was honored as a "Difference Maker" by the Waco Tribune Herald in 2006.

Thomas Reed, a freshman communication science and disorder major from Bossier City, La., is an active member of the Freshman Leadership Organization and will introduce Vaughan's lecture, which will be followed by an audience-engaging Q&A session.

The Academy for Leader Development and Civic Engagement features speakers covering leadership in the church, leadership in social contemporary issues and leadership in public life, said Ramona Curtis, the University's director for Leader Development and Civic Engagement.

"Greater Waco Chamber is doing so much and we have a lot of students interested in private enterprise and this is a great example of that played out in real life," said Melissa Gruver, a graduate assistant in the Academy for Leader Development & Civic Engagement.

The lecture is free and open to the public. 

For more information, contact Gruver at Melissa_Gruver@baylor.edu.