LWC Alumni Spotlight – Terry Eberly
As Leadership Whitley County prepares to embark on its tenth season, the program is celebrating the achievements of past graduates, both personally and professionally. The alums featured have been empowered by their LWC experience and continue to utilize their servant leadership skills in their daily lives.
Shortly after graduating from Class 7 of LWC in 2008, Terry Eberly made the decision to leave the “corporate” world and embark on the dream of starting his own business. Today, Eberly Photography is a thriving business adding to the economic development of downtown South Whitley. In addition to his entrepreneurial initiative, Eberly also chose to run for a seat on the Whitko School Board of Trustees.
“LWC gets people excited about making our community a better place. The other dynamic is what you take away from it years later. Having gone through LWC, it created a spark in me to get involved and pursue a school board position.”
Eberly noted certain skills garnered from his LWC experience, including personality types and personal mission, were very powerful and continue to be useful on a regular basis. He added the interaction with other areas of discipline and a diverse group of individuals as a peer group all learning together on how to be a serve agent for the community combined to offer a very positive experience. Upon graduation, Eberly said the monthly networking gatherings of alumni helped him connect to others, including Star Financial Bank’s David Smith. Eberly would later interact with Smith as he started his photography business in a downtown South Whitley location owned by the financial institution. Eberly also met 2009 graduate Jorell Tucker when he talked with the class about school board roles and responsibilities. Now, Eberly and Tucker will serve together on the school board, making them the first two graduates of the program to successfully run for school board positions. Eberly complimented LWC for its ability to create awareness of community interconnections and offer valuable networking tools for participants.
“The networking opportunity was a good return on investment for me,” he said. “My participation in LWC may have an impact in ways I never realize. It’s important to be a giver and give back to the community. Some can’t give as much, but everybody gives what they can.”
Since his graduation, Terry Eberly continues to make a difference in the Whitley County community, both as a servant leader for education and as a business owner in South Whitley. Eberly Photography is located on State Street and specializes in portraits, senior pictures, weddings, video and commercial photography.
LWC alum and South Whitley business owner Terry Eberly is surrounded by captivating senior portraits in his downtown studio.
“Leadership Whitley County helps you step back and investigate yourself. It’s great to see the vision as a community, and it also helps you as an individual,” said Eberly.
