At Monument, we pride ourselves in being a leader within our communities. And if there’s one thing we value as much as the growth and development of our local area, it’s the growth and development for our people who live and work there. So when the opportunity emerged to nominate one of our own at Brandenburg to the Meade County Leadership program, we didn’t hesitate in doing so.

“When we received the information regarding the Meade County Leadership program, we wanted to nominate an employee who really exemplifies leadership qualities, and Drew Esarey came to mind,” Tonya Jeffries, Brandenburg HR Manager, explained. “This program gives participants the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge of the community, network with other business leaders, and focus on attributes of leadership. We were excited to have Drew represent Monument Chemical and knew he would get as much value from the program as he would bring to it.”

The nine-month program included nine classes and one overnight retreat, each held at a different location throughout the local area — like Frankfort Castle, Fort Knox, Elizabethtown, and more. Through a mix of hands-on learning and a structured lesson around the site visit, classes were designed with the goal of teaching up-and-coming leaders about the multi-facets of Meade County to utilize the strengths of the community in their moving forward.

“It was awesome to be able to see first-hand the incredible things going on in our local community,” Drew shared. “We met with members of the Meade County Brandenburg Industrial Authority within the Economic Development group and learned a lot about the industrialization of our area now and where it can go in the future. Being born and raised in Meade County and now with kids that play and learn here, it’s rewarding for me to see how far we’ve come in areas like education, banking, and farming. And the business development is great for us as a company in terms of having more resources and partners to help fuel our own growth."

Each month, the nine leaders in the program were given various challenges that put both their leadership and teamwork skills to the test.

“One project required us to create coasters from scratch,” Drew explained. “We each had to blindly gather materials to use in the build before being paired with a partner. Together, we had to make our collective materials work into a cohesive design, requiring us to negotiate and problem solve to determine the best approach to the best outcome. Every challenge was so unique, and I learned a lot about the different leadership styles in each person I worked with. These experiences taught me a lot about the value of taking a step back and asking questions to ensure that we not only get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible, but that our decisions are also in the best interest of everyone involved.”

Similar to Drew’s favorable view of his own experience, the Chamber very much felt the same in regard to his contribution as a member. “We were fortunate to have Drew as part of our 2022-2023 leadership class,” Annie Hamilton Emond, Executive Director of Meade County Chamber of Commerce, shared. “He always brought so much insight into our class discussions, as well as so much humor into our group activities.”

“I’m really grateful that Tonya and the team thought of me for this opportunity and allowed me to go behind the scenes of our community’s exciting industrialization,” Drew concluded. “It truly has helped me see the exciting potential that Monument will continue to have in the future in all new ways — and I am excited to be a part of it.”

PICTURED ABOVE (left to right): Tonya Jeffries, Drew Esarey, and Phil Hume