The Sterling Council

06/23/2026

Early, discounted registration for the 35th Sterling Leadership Conference is now open.

The accolades and feedback from this year's conference have been great, with many attendees sharing positive comments about the new venue, the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL.

Take advantage of the lowest registration until August 31, 2026.

Visit: https://thesterlingconference.com

06/22/2026

Why Sterling?

Listen to Eric D. Hollinhead, Ed.D., Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer at Fulton County Schools, explain why they chose The Sterling Council's proven leadership development process to improve their organization.

As Dr. Hollinhead notes, Sterling helped them challenge themselves, strengthen their systems, and better serve their stakeholders. As a result of the Fulton County Schools Human Resources Division's commitment, the organization became the first school district in Georgia to receive The Sterling Council's Georgia Oglethorpe Award.

Watch Dr. Hollinhead's brief video: https://youtu.be/gc4AefndrC0.

Eric D. Hollinhead, Ed.D., Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer at ...

06/15/2026

Exciting things are happening at The Sterling Council!

✔ Examiner Registration is underway
✔ Summer Learning Series information coming soon
✔ New website launching this summer
✔ New leadership learning opportunities on the horizon

We are continuing to expand opportunities for leaders and organizations committed to performance excellence.

Visit thesterlingcouncil.org and follow The Sterling Council on LinkedIn and Facebook to stay connected and be the first to learn what’s next.

06/12/2026

The Sterling Council is pleased to recognize our 2026 Sterling Award Recipients.

STERLING SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE AWARD - Alachua County Tax Collector’s Office

The Alachua County Tax Collector's Office (ACTC) has spent more than a decade building one of Florida's most recognized government organizations, not by accident, but through disciplined leadership and a comprehensive management system grounded in the Florida Sterling Criteria for Performance Excellence. That system integrates strategic planning, performance measurement, workforce development, and transparent communication into a single, aligned approach that touches every level of the organization.

The results speak for themselves: sustained customer satisfaction of
97%, industry-leading practices in real-time feedback and data-driven performance management, and statewide recognition as a benchmark organization in the tax collector community. Guided by its values of Respect, Excellence, Service, Professionalism, Enjoyment, Compassion, and Teamwork (RESPECT) and an unwavering commitment to integrity, innovation, and fiscal responsibility, ACTC has
made excellence in public service not an aspiration but an operating standard.

Alachua County Tax Collector was recognized as a Governor’s Sterling Award recipient in 2022 and is now being recognized as a two-time Sterling Award recipient.

06/11/2026

The Sterling Council is pleased to recognize our 2026 Sterling Award Recipients.

GEORGIA OGLETHORPE AWARD - Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton

Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton is a 236-bed hospital and part of Northeast Georgia Health System, a non-profit network whose mission is improving the health of the community in all it does. The Braselton campus offers a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services — including emergency care, intensive care, labor and delivery, a Level II neonatal intensive care unit, and interventional cardiac catheterization and surgical services across seven operating rooms.

Guided by a high-performance leadership system, the hospital has achieved clinical outcomes that consistently exceed national benchmarks, including sepsis bundle compliance. It has maintained patient experience ratings above the national benchmark of 68% for both “recommend” and “rate the hospital” measures for five consecutive years. These accomplishments are a testament to its sustained commitment to quality care and community trust.

Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton is the first hospital from Northeast Georgia Health System to win the Georgia Oglethorpe Award.

06/10/2026

The Sterling Council is pleased to recognize our 2026 Sterling Award Recipients.

GEORGIA OGLETHORPE AWARD - Fulton County Schools Human Resources Division

Fulton County Schools Human Resources Division serves more than 13,000 employees and over 86,000 students across Georgia's fourth-largest school system, functioning as a strategic partner to district and school leadership across recruitment and retention, employee relations, leadership development, compensation, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness.

The division has driven measurable results through disciplined continuous improvement, reducing onboarding time from 34 to 15 days over the past three years, sustaining district-wide retention for school-based certified staZ teacher retention from 87.8% to 89.5%, exceeding the industry top quartile, and building
leadership pipelines that develop mission-aligned talent at every level.

Underpinning this work is the Level Up professional development program, which strengthens HR capabilities and grows future-ready leaders, reflecting a culture of shared accountability in which investing in people and delivering excellent service to schools is treated as an inseparable goal.

Fulton County Schools Human Resources Division is the first education organization in Georgia to be recognized as a Georgia Oglethorpe recipient.

06/09/2026

Congratulations to the 2nd Cohort of the Sterling Leadership Fellows on their recent graduation! The most recent graduates were recognized at the Sterling Leadership Conference at the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL.

The 3rd Cohort of Sterling Leadership Fellows is underway. Philip Centonze administers the one-year fellowship program, and you can read more at: https://thesterlingcouncil.org/leadership-fellows.

06/08/2026

The Sterling Council offers leadership development and organizational excellence training to individuals, teams, and organizations. These are not seasonal presentations; Sterling has been sharing these proven paths to excellence for over 30 years.

We invite you to learn more by checking out our recent social media posts on LinkedIn and Facebook, or by visiting our website: https://thesterlingcouncil.org. Seeing is believing, and now is your time to get engaged.

06/05/2026

Barriers don’t define the future of leadership; it’s shaped by those bold enough to move beyond them.

Plan now to join us for the 35th Sterling Leadership Conference as we embrace our 2027 theme:

No Limits. Just Leadership.

📍 JW Marriott Bonnet Creek
Orlando, Florida
📅 June 8–11, 2027

Four days of inspiration, innovation, and practical leadership development alongside professionals committed to building stronger leaders and organizations.

The next era of leadership starts here. https://thesterlingconference.com

06/03/2026

🌟 Thank You to Our Sponsors! 🌟

Our sponsors made the 34th Sterling Leadership Conference even more impactful thanks to their generous support. Your commitment to leadership development, organizational excellence, and continuous improvement helps make this annual gathering possible.

We are grateful for your partnership and for the important role you play in advancing excellence across healthcare, business, education, government, financial, manufacturing, and nonprofit organizations.

Thank you for investing in A New Era of Leadership and helping us inspire, equip, and connect leaders from across the region and beyond.

👏 Please join us in thanking our outstanding sponsors for their support of the 34th Sterling Leadership Conference!