State senators, delegates and local leaders met at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington Friday morning to talk about the importance of leadership and its impact on neighboring jurisdictions. 

“Leadership matters. We are here to prove that every single person here can be a leader,” said Betsy Frantz of the Virginia Hospital Center Foundation.

This year marks the seventh annual legislative breakfast hosted by the Leadership Center for Excellence, a group dedicated to inspiring and connecting people through community building events and opportunities. Officials say this event connects local legislators directly to their constituents.

“Where this is different from other organizations, where they are talking about bills that are being presented and passed. They might mention those things, but we have asked them specifically to talk about their leadership lessons, so that everyone in the room can learn how leadership is spread across everything we are doing including down in Richmond,” said Frantz.

Local lawmakers also shared their leadership moments and insights from their experience in Richmond at the 2018 Virginia General Assembly session.

“This program started in 1998, and it has grown from a simple leadership program dealing with just existing leaders in the community to expanding leadership across all spectrum of different programs,” said Tim Hughes, former board chair of the Leadership Center for Excellence.