.: Leadership Development Academy :.

The Richard Williams Jr. Leadership Development Academy is a Blount County, Tennessee based non-profit organization originally established in 2003 to help address the needs of school aged children. Through an initiative supported by The Church of God in Christ, and administered by the Blount County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the academy partners with area community groups and schools to identify and select the participants, known as leadership cadets. Leadership Cadets are not required to be affiliated with any religious organizations or church.

One Hundred percent of the young people completing High School years as a Leadership Cadet entered college. The cadets who graduated in 2010 received approximately $500,000 in scholarships and grants. The Academy expanded in 2011to meet an increasing need to meet changing societal challenges facing young people. Working to provide the same level of impact on the lives of youth up to 21 years old, the academy created the General Fred Forster Institute.