WILLIAMSON — Eight of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College’s most promising students were named as Fellows in the Appalachian Leadership Academy at an induction ceremony at the Williamson campus Tuesday.

The Academy is on ongoing joint effort by Southern and Cotiga Development to provide scholarships and mentoring opportunities for future leaders. ALA Fellows from the classes of 2008 and 2009 welcomed the Fellows of the 2010 class.

One of the most noteworthy leaders to come from Mingo County, General Robert H. Foglesong, Ret., spoke at the ceremony. Gen Foglesong is currently the president of the academy.

A native of Chattaroy, Foglesong attained the rank of four-star general in the United State Air Force Academy, retiring from active duty after 33 years of service. He earned the degrees BSc, MSc and PhD at West Virginia University in chemical engineering in 1968, 1969 and 1971 respectively. He holds an honorary Doctorate in Strategic Intelligence, and is a Distinguished Alumnus of West Virginia University. He was selected by the West Virginia Education Alliance as a Graduate of Distinction, and was selected by the West Virginia Executive Magazine as the Patriot of the Year for 2005.

Gen. Foglesong said many times an important trait of leaders is overlooked character.

We have drifted away from the concern of character, he told the former, present and future ALA Fellows. It is fundamental to success.

He went on to explain character is one of some traits he considers fundamental to leadership.

You must have integrity, because once you step over a line, you can never come back. You will need to have something that you put before yourself. Leaders infuse themselves with excellence, do not be satisfied with average. You must have passion. The people who work for you will sense your passion, and they will feel the same passion, as well as your compassion.

Gen. Foglesong said being brave is also a basic characteristic that defines a leader.

All these thing don’t count if you don’t have courage, he said. You may have to go in a different direction than the people around you think you should. You must have the courage to pull the trigger.

The general went on to say he felt it was important for the American people to make themselves knowledgeable about the world in order to find their position on important issues.

We are about to have a change of ideology in this country, he said. I don’t know if it will be better or worse. But we need to stay engaged. I spend a lot of time in Washington, D.C., and I can say this: no one there is a bad person. They genuinely believe in what they are saying. People will arguing violently on both sides of the issues, but most are comfortable in the center. I ask you to try to understand what in going on in our nation.

He went on to say the polarization of opinion is widespread, and it is important to listen to all sides.

We have a tendency to to listen to extremes, I do, he said. One day I will listen to one opinion, the next day I will listen to the other. But we need to listen. I have traveled all over the world, and the US is still the most respected and the most feared nation on earth. We are not perfect, but we have an incredible Constitution, which gave power to the citizens. We need to know the facts before we vote.

The Fellows inducted into the ALA Tuesday were Keith Coleman, a graduate of Belfry High School who plans to graduate with a degree in Surgical Technology, Krista Edwards, a graduate of Burch High School whose goal is to become a social worker or counselor, Carolina Fletcher, who graduated Tug Valley High School with honors. Carolina’s academic goal is to become an elementary school teacher. Carolina recognizes that to be a great teacher she needs to have leadership skills. Carolinas believes that as a Cotiga Fellow she will gain confidence in herself, increase her communication skills, and expand her knowledge of people of all types., Sherry Murphy, owner of Triple H Designs, a web-graphic design business, which creates and maintains Web sites for businesses. Sherry’s educational goal is to become an elementary school teacher. Ashlea Mariano Owens, a resident of Belfry, Kentucky plans to become an x-ray technologist. Andrew William Portzer, a graduate of Belfry High School, plans to graduate with a degree in Radiological Technology Courtney Paige Runyon, who graduated in the top six of her class from Matewan High School. Jeremiah Seth Simon, graduated Belfry High School and was awarded recognition as an Eagle Scott with the Boy Scouts of America. Seths academic goal is to become a social studies teacher. Eric Starr, a resident of Lenore, West Virginia, graduated Tug Valley High School last May. Erics academic goal is to graduate from Southern with an Associate Degree and then attend Marshall University to obtain a BA and MA in history.