Pictured: Shannon Veal

Richard Thornton, Vice President of Instruction at Swainsboro Technical College, announced that Shannon Veal has been named as Swainsboro Technical College’s Nursing Instructor as of March 5, 2007.

Ms. Veal is a graduate of West Laurens High School and Heart of Georgia Technical College, graduating from the LPN Program. She also graduated from Middle Georgia College with an Associate Degree in Nursing.

For the past ten years, Ms. Veal has worked in emergency medicine; and was the Emergency Room RN at Telfair Regional Hospital in McRae for the past year.

She lives in Wrightsville with her two sons: Al, age fourteen; and Devon, age 8. They are enrolled in the Johnson County school system.

""We feel extremely fortunate to have Shannon as a nursing instructor. She will be a real asset to our program," commented Dr. Thornton. "I look forward to working with her."

Pictured: Representatives from the City of Swainsboro, Parks and Recreation, the Georgia Forestry Commission, business and industry leaders, and instructors, staff and students from Swainsboro Technical College attend the Arbor Day tree planting at Swainsboro Technical College.

Swainsboro Mayor Charles Schwabe signed a proclamation declaring February 16^th as Arbor Day; and the Forestry Technology program at Swainsboro Technical College celebrated the day by planting one of the Historic Trees, the Montpelier Southern Magnolia, on the campus. The planting ceremony completed the first phase of the Swainsboro Historic Tree Project, which included the planting of 30 trees of various species and historical significance. The project was initiated in the fall of 2006.

According to Rodney Kellum, Forestry Technology Instructor at Swainsboro Technical College, "Phase two has started and should be completed by the fall of 2007. The goal is that Swainsboro will have the largest arboretum of this type in the United States. All trees will be planted on public property so that students of all ages can visit each tree and increase their knowledge of trees and history. This project will also aid in moving Swainsboro one step closer in becoming certified as a Tree City USA."

"I am very grateful to the Administration of the City of Swainsboro, the Georgia Forestry Commission, the Parks and Recreation department, our industry leaders, and the faculty, staff and students of Swainsboro Technical College for their support in making this project a success," continued Mr. Kellum.

Pictured: (l-r) Teresa Cochran from Emanuel County, Rachael Gray from Emanuel County, Cyndi Bishop from Emanuel County, Daphne Catoe from Johnson County, Alison Gunn from Emanuel County, Kristen McDaniel from Emanuel County, Tefanie Mathews from Emanuel County, Candice King from Chatham County, Shatavia Martin from Johnson County, Caddie Martin from Burke County, Instructor Edna Lawrence, and Tiffany Thomas from Emanuel County. (not pictured Instructor Peggy Braswell)

The Swainsboro Technical College cosmetology class recently visited the Beauty Alliance store in Augusta

Students learned about the "professional only products" and the advantage of having those in their salons for use and retail.  The need to use "professional only products" was stressed because these products can only be purchased by professionals and are sold only in licensed salons.  "Professional only products" can not be found at variety stores. This means you must be a licensed master cosmetologist to purchase these products. The Beauty Alliance manager talked about how the products are received in the store, about the specials that are offered each month and how that affects the profits for the professional.  The students were allowed to shop as professionals do and helped to get an order together for the lab work in the Swainsboro Technical College cosmetology department.

"Trips like this are very important to the student’s total education," commented Peggy Braswell, Swainsboro Technical College Cosmetology Instructor. "So many things they need to see and hear outside the classroom can be learned on this type of trip.  Some graduates may want to become salon consultants or platform artists and this event gives them knowledge to help make their future career decisions."

On February 13, 2007, four students from Jenkins County High School, Jesse Williams, Zachry Rhodes, Adam Lanier and Kevin Davis, competed in the Area 4 FFA Agricultural Mechanics Competition at Johnson County High School in Wrightsville. Zachry and Kevin are former graduates from the Industrial MIG Welding Program offered through dual enrollment with Swainsboro Technical College and Jessie and Adam are currently enrolled in the program.

The Millen group won the welding competition and placed 5^th overall. Jesse, who is also currently taking Gas Metal Arc Welding with Michael Crumpler, Welding Instructor for Swainsboro Technical College, scored a perfect 100 on the welding competition.

"This is the first time we have ever won the welding competition and we have been competing for twelve years," commented Virgil Rainey, Agricultural Mechanics teacher at Jenkins County High School. "We have never had a student score a perfect 100 on the welding portion; and are very much appreciative to Mr. Crumpler in his efforts of teaching Gas Metal Arc Welding on our campus through dual enrollment."

According to Jesse, "We had to make a fillet weld on both sides of a T-Joint and then the judges tried to break it, some students had their welds to break but none of ours did."

"I was so proud of them! Out of 42 teams representing 42 counties, they placed 1^st in the welding competition," commented their proud instructor Mr. Crumpler.   

Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Agency of East Central Georgia of Swainsboro Technical College is offering a two-hour Parenting Workshop from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, at the Swainsboro Technical College on 346 Kite Road in Swainsboro.

The workshop is designed for anyone who wants to acquire additional parenting skills and will cover areas such as these: different parenting styles; communicating with children; dealing with difficult children; promoting positive behavior; and improving understanding while learning to effectively deal with children. There is a $5.00 fee. Pre-registration is required by March 8. Participants will not receive state hours but will receive a certificate of attendance and childcare is not provided.

You may pre-register and receive additional information by calling Tonya at 877-495-9188 or 478-289-2275 or Isabel at 800-300-2316 or 478-274-1362.  

Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Agency of East Central Georgia of Swainsboro Technical College is offering a Nutrition Workshop for child care providers on Tuesday, March 13, from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Wheeler County Community Center on 203 West Forest Avenue in Alamo.

Those attending will receive 3 State approved credits. Pre-registration is required by March 8, and the registration fee is $5.00. For more information or to register, contact Tonya at 1-877-495-9188 or 1-478-289-2275 or Isabel at 1-800-300-2316 or 1-478-274-1362.