Fast Facts

 

 

Griffith wins Rick Perkins Award for Excellence at SWGTC

 

 

 

Rick Perkins Award winner Ralph Griffith

 

Southwest Georgia Technical College (SWGTC) Drafting Technology instructor Ralph Griffith has been named the 2011 Rick Perkins Award (RPA) of Excellence winner. Griffith was one of four faculty members at SWGTC to have been selected as nominees for the Rick Perkins Award (RPA). Instructors were nominated by their peers.  A selection committee interviewed the four candidates to determine the College’s winner. Also nominated for the 2011 award were Rosa Collins, Chris Parrish, and Wally Waldron.

 

Griffith spent time in the United States Marine Corps before finding his way into technical education. “I spent four years in the Marine Corps and then worked in the criminal justice field for a short while, but knew that was not the career for me.  I came here to SWGTC and enrolled in the Drafting program and really liked it. My instructor, Rodney Braswell, was actually the one who encouraged me to apply here for the teaching position when he retired.”

 

“I had no idea how much I would come to love it,” he said. “I thank him for being the positive influence that he has been on my life. Having been a student in technical education I understand the impact it can have on improving a person’s quality of life. The opportunity to be a part of this life changing experience called technical education is rewarding.  However, the look on a student’s face that has mastered a competency that he or she viewed as unattainable is priceless. A student’s accomplishments are the instructor’s greatest reward.”

 

“It means a great deal to me to have been chosen as the Rick Perkins Award winner,” he added. “I am very proud to be a part of the team at Southwest Georgia Technical College and I will represent the College to the best of my abilities as I move on to the next level of the RPA competition. I appreciate the vote of confidence given to me by my peers.”

 

The RPA program is sponsored by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and was initiated in 1991. Local RPA coordinator, Art Beveridge explained, “The RPA program recognizes our state’s outstanding technical college instructors. The program acknowledges their contributions to technical education and their commitment to the mission of the TCSG.”

 

According to Beveridge, the instructors were nominated by the College’s faculty and staff. “The internal process was based on innovation and leadership in his or her field,” he said.

 

“We appreciate the large number of faculty and staff who voted and congratulate those who will compete locally later this month,” said Beveridge. “Ralph will represent SWGTC at the regional event and finalists from our region will travel to Atlanta for the state level competition, with the overall winner being announced in May  as part of the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership event in Atlanta.

 

The instructor who is selected as the state RPA winner will receive a grand prize of $1,000, and will carry the title of Technical College System of Georgia’s (TCSG) Instructor of the Year. The winner will also serve as the state’s ambassador for technical education. SWGTC’s Jessica Barfield, Early Childhood Care and Education instructor, was named the TCSG’s Instructor of the year in 2010.