Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle invited Russellville Mayor David Grissom to join a new council of regional leaders called the North Alabama 40.

The goal, Grissom explained, is to foster greater regional cooperation by putting on biannual meetings that bring together 40 or so leaders from across the valley. Each gathering will be held in the evening and consist of conversation over dinner followed by an address from a prominent speaker.

The idea is to give the members a chance to get to know each other, talk about issues of the day and work toward a regional agreement on issues that affect this part of the state.

“We believe in the strength of regional partnerships and their potential to generate positive growth in North Alabama,” explained Battle. “Our administration has been proactively meeting with elected leaders across the area for many years to the betterment of our communities. We are now expanding that base to include a biannual gathering with a diverse group of community, industry and business leaders. We look forward to ongoing dialogue, ideas and collaboration.”

Grissom accepted the invitation and attended the first meeting of the leadership council Aug. 2 at the Cook Museum of Natural Science in Decatur. The speaker was Jeff Lyash, CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“It’s my honor to be included,” Grissom said. “I love north Alabama and look forward to contributing to the success of the North Alabama 40.”