Columbia's top ten Black leaders include this self-starter
 
COLUMBIA, 1/25/12  (Beat Byte) --  Whether it's organizing candidate forums or re-organizing a First Ward neighborhood association, Tyree Paladon Byndom has established himself as a rising star in Columbia's leadership ranks, adopting an entrepreneurial model common to many black leaders both here and around the country. 
 
It's a self-starter model that looks around the community asking, "how can we make it better, and what can I do to lead the effort?"   
 
The host of KOPN's Kore Issues radio show, Byndom's leadership style also reminds of other rising city leaders nationwide, most notably Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker and former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty.  It's a style that seeks to build coalitions that facilitate progress while never backing away from adversity or challenge. 
 
It's also decidedly modern, making ample use of digital and social media, as Byndom's 5,000 Facebook friends -- the Facebook maximum -- would likely attest. 
 
Byndom is unafraid to ask hard questions about the state of Black Columbia today, and openly wonder why, as many things have changed for the better, many things are still the same or even worse. 

At the same time, his proactive attitude led Missourian columnist David Rosman to say,  "Tyree Byndom is an amazing man. Father and husband, business owner and community activist, he is someone I look up to."