Burleson renews City of Character resolution

Posted Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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In April, 1999, the city of Burleson was introduced to the Character First® program, and became a City of Character through a joint resolution between the city, Burleson ISD, the Ministerial Alliance, and the Burleson Area Chamber of Commerce. At a June 4, 2009 city council meeting, Mayor Ken Shetter renewed the 10-year-old resolution.

Burleson was honored with the 2001 Paul Geisel Community of Year Award, presented by the Southwest Metroplex Alliance, for its Character Program. Numerous international visitors have come to Burleson to seek advice on implementing the Character First® program in their communities.

Character First! is a program designed to "help people see the value of good character…so they can build better workplaces and communities." In 1992, Tom Hill, president of Kimray, an Oklahoma City-based manufacturing company, developed and piloted the first Character First! program – based on 49 character qualities – to help employees reach their full potential.

Two years after its inception Kimray established the Character Training Institute in Oklahoma City. In 1996, police and school officials from Oklahoma City invited the Institute to develop a curriculum for the local elementary schools. After piloting the concept in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and California, the Character First! Education program was released to the public and is currently used throughout the U.S. and around the world.

In 1998, the Character Training Institute took another major step when Baton Rouge, La. became "A City of Character…A City that Cares."

Soon other communities – including Burleson – started their own character initiatives, and the International Association of Character Cities (IACC) was formed.

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