Several area professionals are headed to Harvard this weekend.

The Delta Regional Authority recently announced four Southeast Missouri members of the Delta Leadership Network have been selected to attend an executive education training Sunday through Wednesday at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Selected were Perryville city administrator Brent Buerck; Dennis Vinson of Signature Packaging in Jackson; Valerie Blackmon of Valerie Blackmon Accounting and Consulting in Sikeston, Missouri; and Missy Marshall, director of Three Rivers College's Sikeston campus.

"I am honored and excited to be accepted into this year's Leadership Class at Harvard," Marshall wrote in an email. "I think lifelong learning is important and have found experiences like the upcoming class to be an excellent way to 'recharge' my batteries, so to speak. To be your best in your personal life, your career and your community, you need to be open to new information and processes; after all, you do want to be the sharpest tool in the shed."

Marshall has volunteered for the Delta Regional Authority since 2006 and said she appreciates "the continued investment they make in the people and leadership of the Mississippi Delta."

Vinson also said he was honored to have been selected and is looking forward to the experience.

"To be extended the opportunity to participate ... I'm excited and quite honored," he said.

The four-day course will focus on "cutting-edge leadership principles in the U.S.," a news release from the Delta Regional Authority stated.

Buerck said he had applied for the Harvard training in the past but was not selected because the program is limited to 40 participants.

"I couldn't be more blessed to have been selected this time and look forward to learning how to be a better and more effective leader," Buerck said in an email.

"I also really appreciate the mayor and board of aldermen's support in allowing me to participate."

Blackmon did not return a call requesting comment.

The Delta Regional Authority was created by Congress in 2000 to create jobs, build communities and improve people's lives though strategic investments in economic development in more than 250 counties and parishes in eight states, the release stated.

kwebster@semissourian.com

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