Dunwoody Teacher to Receive Toastmasters 2019 Communication and Leadership Award

Steve Fortenberry will be the recipient of the 2019 Communication and Leadership Award on May 4, during the Georgia District 44 Toastmasters annual conference.
Realizing that effective communication is a critical element in personal development, Steve incorporated into the program a communication component. For the past 4 years, he has blended the Toastmasters Youth Leadership program within the Dunwoody High School Finance Academy. Students present speeches, learn to respond to extemporaneous questions and provide feedback.

One of Mr. Fortenberry’s students, Madison Beecher (class 2016) and daughter of Marcia Williams (a Distinguished Toastmasters and active Dunwoody parent), suggested that Toastmasters may be a benefit to the students in the Academy. Steve reached out to Marcia and a partnership was born. Many of the students have gone on to make their mark on various college campuses throughout the US with the confidence garnered from this program.
A very modest individual, Steve is heavily involved in the Dunwoody community, where he was born and raised. He is a husband and father, and takes great pride in helping young men and women overcome their challenges. Georgia District Distinguished Toastmaster Marcia Williams and I would like to submit this nomination in consideration of Steve Fortenberry for the 2019 Communication and Leadership Award.

As director of the Dunwoody High School Academy of Finance, Steve, through his leadership, mentoring and partnerships epitomizes the conference theme “Waves of Change…Oceans of Opportunities”.

The Dunwoody High School Academy of Finance looks to fulfill this mission and graduate students who are focused and ready for the challenges that await them. The Finance Academy program exposes students to many facets of the business environment. It is likened to a “mini” MBA, as students take courses in corporate finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, personal finance, AP macroeconomics and international business. Further, the course is heavy in group projects, team competitions, and interaction with many local business leaders that sharpen the students networking skills. It is a program that provides students with unique experiences and a real-world curriculum that allows them to begin to focus in on their potential career path.

Teaching is a second career for Steve, having left the business world after 10 years to pursue his passion for teaching. He returned to his alma mater to establish the Academy of Finance after the parent organization, the National Academy Foundation, selected Dunwoody High School to have an Academy. It started with a small group of students in 1999 and has now grown to an Academy that has 95 juniors and 90 seniors.

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