Susan Davis, business administrative technology instructor and Phi Beta Lambda club advisor at Moultrie Technical College’s Tifton Campus, pictured second from left, was chosen by her peers as the 2013 Instructor of the Year. She is pictured with fellow award finalists Rebecca Clark, Tamara Gray and Paul Tompkins, all of the MTC Moultrie Veterans Parkway Campus.

Moultrie Technical College (MTC) Business Administrative Technology instructor and Phi Beta Lambda club advisor Susan Davis of Sylvester was recently selected by her peers at MTC as the school’s nominee for the state Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction. Davis teaches at the college’s Tifton campus.

“I am so blessed to work with an amazing group of faculty and students, and it is such an honor to be recognized for a job that I love so much,” said Davis. “Technical education is my passion, and I am excited to represent Moultrie Technical College at the regional and state levels.”

Cosmetology program instructor Paul Tompkins, Marketing program instructor Rebecca Clark, and mathematics instructor Tamara Gray of the Moultrie Veterans Parkway Campus were also finalists for the 2013 award at Moultrie Tech. Davis also earned finalist status for the award in 2012.

Named in memory of Thomas “Rick” Perkins, an instructor at West Central Technical College who received the Department of Technical & Adult Education Commissioner’s Award of Excellence prior to his untimely death, the award is the Technical College System of Georgia’s (TCSG) version of an “instructor of the year” honor.  It is presented to the person who has shown the most dedication to the job, commitment to students, and skill in the classroom.

 “Susan Davis is the epitome of a great teacher as well as a great campus leader. Susan is an inspiration to her students and encourages them to go beyond any limits that they may have set for themselves,” said MTC President Tina Anderson.

Annually, all 25 technical colleges, plus a Regents system school with a technical division, nominate an instructor to represent their colleges for the statewide honor. Nominees then compete on a regional basis.  

Davis will compete with instructors from Albany Tech, Altamaha Tech, Bainbridge College’s technical division, Okefenokee Tech, Savannah Tech, South Georgia Tech, Southwest Georgia Tech, and Wiregrass Georgia Tech for the South Georgia regional title on February 28 at Moultrie Tech’s Tifton Campus.  

Finalists from each technical college region will be selected prior to TCSG’s GOAL awards week in April and will go on to compete for the state honor during that week in Atlanta.

The state Rick Perkins Award winner serves as an ambassador for technical education in Georgia. He or she will make public appearances throughout the year including addresses to the Georgia General Assembly and the Georgia Technical College System Leadership Conference in the fall.

Davis earned an associate degree in business administration from Abraham Baldwin College in 1992, graduating with honors. In 1994 she continued her education at Georgia Southwestern State University gaining a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Davis added to her teaching credentials in 2008 by obtaining a master’s degree in business education from Valdosta State University (VSU).

Prior to joining the faculty at Moultrie Tech in 2002, she worked as an office manager at Varnadoe Construction Company in Sylvester. At that time Davis transitioned to teaching at MTC’s adult education site in Worth County as a literacy and GED test preparation instructor. In 2003 she was hired as a business administrative technology instructor at the college’s Tifton Campus.

As the current advisor for the MTC Tifton Campus Phi Beta Lambda student organization, a business-related club focusing on leadership skills and business readiness, Davis has led students in regional and state competitions since 2009 and directs them in many volunteer and charitable activities.

Those activities include coordinating local food drives for the Tifton Food Bank and volunteers for the Leroy Rogers Senior Adult Center and The Tifton Soup Kitchen, raising over $3,000 for the March of Dimes, and directing donation drives for Ruth’s Cottage and the Patticake House and for soldiers serving in Afghanistan. In 2012 Davis’ efforts also led PBL Tifton students in participation with Suitcases for Kids.

Among her professional memberships, Davis is a part of the Phi Beta Lambda Professional Division, the Georgia Business Education Association, the National Business Education Association, the President’s Council and retention committee at Moultrie Tech, and on advisory committees for both the Tift County High School and Worth County High School business education departments.

Davis has earned multiple awards and honors to include the 2008 VSU Outstanding Masters Student in Business Education, the 2007 MTC Virtual Star Award for Exceptional Instruction and Customer Service in Online Studies, the 2007 TCSG Lighthouse Certificate of Recognition for Exemplary Efforts to Maintain and Encourage Excellence in Technical Education, and the 2012 Georgia Phi Beta Lambda Chapter of the Year as the MTC Tifton Campus advisor.

She and her husband Richard have three children — Jake and Sam Varnadoe, who are sophomores at Tiftarea Academy, and Lauren Davis, a senior at Lee County High School. They are members of Unity Baptist Church.

“Because of Susan’s leadership, students have been afforded opportunities that would have otherwise been impossible. We are extremely proud to call Susan Davis the Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year,” added Anderson.