Special to The Post-Searchlight

At a ceremony held Wednesday, Bainbridge College (BC) recognized outstanding achievement in technical education.

The college announced the winners of the Rick Perkins award, which honors a technical college faculty member, and the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) award, which recognizes an outstanding technical education student.

Instructors at Bainbridge College nominated eight of their students for the GOAL competition, according to Sheila McLendon, coordinator for the college’s GOAL program. Of the eight nominees, four chose to compete in the local competition.

This year’s winner, Tyler Pollock, Bainbridge, is currently completing the Emergency Medical Technician program and plans to begin his major in Paramedic Technology beginning spring 2013. He was nominated by Lori Barrow, Instructor of Allied Health. Pollock will now complete at the regional competition.

Others GOAL nominees who entered the competition are

• James Strickland of Blakely, who attends Bainbridge College Early County (BCEC) and is an Electrical Construction and Maintenance student. He was nominated by Gail Lovering, part-time instructor of Administrative Office Technology.

• Michael Middleton of Dothan, Ala., is majoring in Electrical Construction and Maintenance at BCEC. He was nominated by Claude Bell, Assistant Professor of Electronics Technology

• Mackenzie Burgess of Bainbridge, is majoring in Business Administration and attends classes at the Bainbridge campus. She was nominated by Tatyana Pashnyak, Associate Professor of Business & Medical Office Technology.

“The purpose of the GOAL program is to spotlight the outstanding achievement by students in Georgia’s technical colleges and to emphasize the importance of technical education in today’s global workforce,” said McLendon.

The first phase of GOAL takes place at the local college level where a selection committee panel of leaders from local business and industry in the community review each of the instructors’nominations then conduct personal interviews with the students. The panel considers the students’qualities including academic achievement, personal character, leadership abilities and enthusiasm for technical education.

When college GOAL winners are selected at the local level, they then complete at the regional level. There are three regions in Georgia and three students will be selected at each regional competition to compete in the semi-final completion at the state level in Atlanta. At the state level competition, one student will be selected to represent the state as an ambassador for technical education in Georgia.

Georgia’s GOAL program is the first of its kind in the nation.

Paramedic and emergency medical technician assistant professor Randy Williams of Colquitt, whose selection as the 2013 Bainbridge College (BC) Technical Studies Division Rick Perkins Teacher of the Year was announced in October, was also honored at the reception. He will compete for the regional title in Tifton, GA in February 2013”, said BC Rick Perkins Award Coordinator Tatyana Pashnyak.

The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Instruction honors technical education’s most outstanding instructors. The award has been an on-going statewide event since 1991 and is designed to recognize technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their respective fields. The state Rick Perkins winner serves as an ambassador for technical education in Georgia.