Members of the leadership Alexandria Alumni Association gathered to celebrate the latest 2025 graduates at a reunion held June 23 at Cooper Mill Restaurant.

Started by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in 2004, Leadership Alexandria is a nine-month civic leadership program designed to educate emerging and established leaders in the Alexandria community.

“We are highlighting the 20-year reunion of the class of 2005, which was the 2nd year of the program,” said alumnus John Porter. “The Chamber began the program in 2004 and went on hiatus for a few years. It came back recently and has been a valuable program to introduce rising leaders in Alexandria to various aspects of our city.”

Jake Truex was among the newest graduates of the program.

“I got into it so I could understand the community more,” Truex said. “I wanted to learn how local government works, how civil services benefit us and gain a deeper understanding of these connections.”

Truex called the program “phenomenal” and praised the alumni association network.

“I got a much deeper understanding, much deeper network of people from all sides of the aisle,” Truex said. “We are all here connecting together through 20 different classes. It’s a deep network that people are still very ingrained in. That’s the beauty of the program and Alexandria in general.”

Said 2005 graduate Mark Feldheim, “Leadership Alexandria was a life changing experience. I learned how to work with people and made lifelong friends.”