WestStar Leadership celebrates graduates

JACKSON, Tenn. — A special graduation ceremony took place Tuesday.

The WestStar Leadership program celebrated its 2020 to 2021 graduating class Tuesday evening.

WestStar is a regional leadership program, sponsored by the University of Tennessee at Martin.

It brings together 29 to 30 leaders from all of the communities in West Tennessee.

They discuss economic development, tourism and more.

This graduating class persevered because, officials say, COVID-19 hit in the middle of it. Due to the circumstances, they had to go virtual.

Officials say this is a celebration of all they have been through, and students say they learned a lot.

“Going through WestStar, it’s an experience that you discover what West Tennessee has to offer. Even though you think you might know what is in the communities in West Tennessee, you find out there’s a lot more than you thought that there was,” graduate Jessi Bell Pruett said.

Pruett also says she hopes she and her classmates can all be champions for West Tennessee and the surrounding areas.