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Eubanks named Southeastern Tech GOAL winner
0302 STC Goal winner
Chelsea Eubanks, third from the left, was named the GOAL winner at Vidalias Southeastern Tech. She is joined by, from left to right, STC provost Larry Calhoun, Melissa Rowell, Charla Nail, Leisa Dukes and Dr. Cathryn Mitchell. - photo by Photo provided

Students, faculty and staff were honored Jan. 24 at Southeastern Technical College’s annual awards banquet, held at the Vidalia Community Center.

"This is really an awards banquet to celebrate everyone at STC," said STC President Dr. Cathryn Mitchell.

Awards were presented in four different categories: Supervisory Staff Member of the Year, Non-Supervisory Staff Member of the Year, Instructor of the Year, and STC’s GOAL Student.

The Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) is presented annually to the Southeastern Tech student who best exemplifies the goals of technical education.

"Being nominated for GOAL is one of the highest honors an STC student can achieve," said Dr. Barry Dotson, STC vice president of student affairs. "I know many of the nominees and they represent the best in technical education."

This year’s Southeastern Tech GOAL was given to Chelsea Eubanks. Other nominees included Christine Badie, Brenda Leal, Grayson Mendieta, Mallory McLendon, Chanclor NeeSmith, Devan Price, Kathy Stokes, Ashley Taylor, Chris Thompson, and Arneatrus Ward.

"After learning dental hygiene from Southeastern Technical College, I truly value my technical education," said Eubanks. "This career gives me the chance to make a difference. "

Eubanks will compete to be one of three GOAL winners chosen at the regional level who will travel to Atlanta and vie for the state GOAL prize. The state GOAL winner will act as a representative for technical education across Georgia and receive a car, courtesy of GOAL sponsor Chevrolet, to aid in those duties.

The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction is awarded each year to the school’s most outstanding instructor.

"The award is designed to recognize technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields," said Cheryl West, dean of general education and learning support at STC.

Leisa Dukes was named STC’s Instructor of the Year. Also nominated were Peggy Braswell, Michael Crumpler, Maxine Garnto, Charlotte Mathews, David Standard, and Sonya Wilson.

"To sell a product, you must believe in that product," said Dukes, a psychology instructor. "And I believe in technical education."

Dukes will go on to compete at the regional level, where two instructors are chosen to move on to the state level. The winner there becomes the ambassador for technical education in Georgia.

This year was the first time STC’s award to the year’s best staff member was divided into two categories: supervisory and non-supervisory.

"The Staff Member of the Year award is a prestigious award that was created to recognize a staff member who has exemplified excellence in their day-to-day job as well as contributed in other ways to make the College a success during the past year," said Denise Powell, vice president for administrative services.

The non-supervisory winner was Melissa Rowell and the supervisory winner was Charla Nail. Also nominated were Janene Betts, Don Braswell, Rebecca Ethredge, Mitchell Fagler, Teresa Gillette, Ashley Googe, Sarah Gross, Amanda Lively, Nora Rhymes, Brooke Salter, Kathryn Smith, and Helen Thomas.