Creasy completes WestStar Leadership Program, builds regional ties

Creasy’s completion of the WestStar Leadership Program gives Decatur County another connection to a West Tennessee network built around civic, economic and educational issues. In a county where local leaders often handle more than one role, that kind of training can shape the conversations that eventually reach school boards, county committees, nonprofit groups and public-service decisions.

WestStar is not a single workshop or a ceremonial certificate. UT Martin announced its Class of 2026 on Nov. 20, 2025, after a welcome meeting and reception on Nov. 10, and said the class would go through seven more learning sessions before graduation. That structure is designed to keep participants in contact over time, building relationships among people who are expected to work across city, county and regional lines after the program ends.

The program’s public finish line came June 16, when UT Martin honored WestStar’s 36th graduating class in the Boling University Center’s Duncan Ballroom. The ceremony included a 5:30 p.m. reception followed by dinner at 6 p.m., and Patrick Sheehan, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, served as keynote speaker. That lineup underscored how the program connects local participants with state-level public service and emergency management expertise.

For Decatur County, the value of Creasy’s participation is practical as much as symbolic. WestStar is built to expose participants to the kinds of issues that come up in smaller communities, from economic development to social concerns that affect families, employers and public agencies. Those relationships can matter when local leaders are working on school issues, civic projects or regional partnerships that do not stop at the county line.

UT Martin keeps application forms online for the program and maintains a public leadership-program information page, signaling that WestStar remains an active pipeline for future cohorts. The program has also become a visible point of pride in other West Tennessee communities, including Brownsville, where the Brownsville Haywood County Chamber of Commerce publicly celebrated a 2025 WestStar graduate. That regional recognition shows the credential carries weight well beyond Martin, and gives Decatur County another tie to the same leadership network.