NEW ORLEANS – St. Charles Parish Council chairman Clayton Faucheux and Shell Chemical Community Services Director Lilly Galland recently graduated from the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute.

They were among 40 graduates from throughout the New Orleans area, the third such graduating class of the institute, which was established in 1999 by the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. The institute’s mission is to establish a corps of leaders who can guide the region through a variety of economic, political and social challenges. Class members had to be nominated for the course, or apply themselves, and represented a diverse spectrue of races and interests. The students participated in an intensive nine-month study of critical issues shaping this region’s future.

To be eligible for the course, candidates must live or work in Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany or Tangipahoa parishes.

Also, each must complete and submit an application, which is available from program coordinator Erika Blache at 504-527-6919, or through eblache@norcc.org.

A $35 non-refundable fee is required. Tuition for the program is $1,500, with limited scholarship assistance available. The participant’s employer is also asked to grant time necessar for class sessions and work assignments.

For the upcoming session, a two-day retreat is planned Sept. 12-13 and a closing retreat on May 22-23, 2003, at which attendance is mandatory.

Between October and April, there are seven all-day sessions, each focusing on a specific area of community concern, which students are required to attend at least five. These are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be held at sites throughout the New Orleans region.

The tentative list of topics which may be covered include economic development/business and the economy, public policy, quality of life, diversity and race relations, human potential/social services, court systems and jails and public education/workforce development.