LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The Allen Lima Leadership program celebrated its 2025 graduating class Wednesday — and officially welcomed the class of 2026.
Thirty-eight graduates spent the past nine months connecting with local leaders, touring organizations across Lima, and developing community-focused projects. The class met once a month, covering areas such as education, manufacturing, and public safety.
“We had a lot of brilliant people, but I think we had a lot of character,” said Gabe Taviano, a 2025 graduate. “With that big of a group, we were able to connect with each other really well, start building good relationships and networks, but also share our ideas.”
“We really go off of those four pillars of our principle — where we lead, connect, grow and serve,” said Matt Childers, executive director of Allen Lima Leadership. “So they get a heavy dose of leadership, they get a heavy dose of their community, and they connect to it. There’s a lot of growth involved in terms of their personal development, and then there’s service in the end.”
Each group completed a service project that went through a “Shark Tank”-style competition.
This year’s winner was the Lima Citizens Police Academy, a program aimed at building trust between the community and the Lima Police Department.
