THOMASVILLE – Southern Regional Technical College honored its top students and instructors at the Southwest Georgia Bank Conference Center in Moultrie.

The four awards represented excellence in their respective areas of technical and adult education.

The college named two student winners: Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) student David Covington, air conditioning technology major from Tifton, and Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education (EAGLE) delegate Jalisa Gonzalez of Moultrie.

Also, SRTC highlighted the accomplishments of two instructors: Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Education recipient Benjie Nobles, criminal justice instructor in Moultrie, and Adult Education Teacher of the Year LaDonna Delk of Camilla.

“The annual awards luncheon is an opportunity for us to celebrate our college’s ‘Best of the Best.’ We are so proud of these students and faculty for their academic and teaching endeavors, as well as their contributions to the college and community. They truly represent what makes our college remarkable,” said Jim Glass, SRTC president.

Student honors

The GOAL competition begins during the fall semester when technical college instructors identify their most promising students and nominate them. It is based on academic achievement and personal leadership. SRTC instructors nominated 16 outstanding students who met with a faculty and staff selection committee. That committee selected four nominees who then interviewed with a panel of local business and industry leaders. That panel selected SRTC’s GOAL student from the four nominees.

The Dinah Culbreath Wayne EAGLE Program honors adult learners in pursuit of excellence. This singular statewide program recognizes and honors students who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in statewide adult education classes. Selection criteria include student character, attitude, attendance, leadership, and community involvement and activities. Adult Education instructors in public, private, and grantee agencies nominate students at the local program level to participate in the EAGLE recognition program at the state level.

Instructor honors

The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction honors the Technical College System of Georgia’s most outstanding instructors. The award has been an ongoing statewide event since 1991. It recognizes technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their respective fields. Formerly known as the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence, the award was renamed in honor and memory of Thomas “Rick” Perkins, an instructor at West Central Technical College, who received the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence prior to his untimely passing.

The newest award of the group is the Adult Education Teacher of the Year. The Adult Education program at SRTC offers adult literacy, career training, English language, and GED test preparation classes in math, science, social studies and English language arts. Adult Education services are free and available at various locations in Colquitt, Decatur, Early, Grady, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Thomas, Tift, Turner, and Worth counties.

For the most up-to-date information on registration, class dates, and program offerings, go to www.southernregional.edu.