Agency Press Releases

Contact: Mike Light
Executive Director of Communications
404-327-6913 (Atlanta)

Lewis Clark
OTC Director of Public Relations
912-486-7409 (Statesboro)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2006

MS Word Version Here

Commissioner Vollmer Names Search Committee for Next
President of Ogeechee Technical College

Statesboro - Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education (DTAE) Commissioner Mike Vollmer has announced the creation of an eight-member search committee that will eventually select three candidates for consideration to be the next president of Ogeechee Technical College.

The person chosen will replace retiring Ogeechee Tech President Gene Waters.

“Ogeechee Tech has grown to be an outstanding college that offers tremendous opportunities for students to gain the knowledge and abilities that lead to rewarding careers,” said Commissioner Vollmer. “Equally important, Georgia business and industry knows to look to the college for well-trained, highly-skilled graduates. This search committee has the important responsibility to help find an exceptional leader who can meet the high expectations set by the impressive standard of learning excellence that exists at Ogeechee Tech.”

The committee is chaired by Tommy David, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ogeechee Tech and President and CEO of First Southern National Bank in Statesboro. Other committee members are Carter Crawford, Sylvania City Manager, Sylvania; Tammi Hall, Executive Director of the Claxton-Evans County Chamber of Commerce, Claxton; Fred Hill, Human Resource

Manager, Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Statesboro; Gary Johnson, Executive Vice President, Sea Island Bank, Statesboro; John E. Martin, Sr., M.D., Director of Medical and Clinical Education at Ogeechee Tech, Statesboro; Harry Sheppard, President, Bank of Newington; and Dr. Jessie S. Strickland, Superintendent, Bulloch County Schools, Statesboro.

“I want to wish Dr. Waters well in his retirement and express our great appreciation for his outstanding contributions during his tenure as Ogeechee’s president,” said Commissioner Vollmer. “Gene’s strong commitment to technical education and his dedication to the college, its faculty and staff benefited every student and all the communities served by Ogeechee Tech.”

Dr. Randall Peters has taken temporary leave from his position as president of Heart of Georgia Technical College and will act as the interim president at Ogeechee Tech until a successor to Dr. Waters is named.

The application, interview and selection process for the next president is expected to take four to six months. At the completion of their local interviews, the search committee will refer the top three applicants on to personal interviews with Commissioner Vollmer at DTAE’s Atlanta headquarters. The commissioner’s final selection must be approved by the state Board of Technical and Adult Education, whose members are appointed by the Governor to oversee the operation of the agency.

Ogeechee Tech serves Bulloch, Evans and Screven counties. In addition to the Statesboro campus, the college also operates learning centers in Sylvania and Claxton and a commercial truck driving center in Hagan. A total of 1,950 students were enrolled in diploma, degree and certificate classes during the college’s 2005 fiscal year.

The Department of Technical and Adult Education is the state agency responsible for the governance of Georgia's 34 technical colleges. Along with managing the technical college system, the department also administers the state's adult literacy programs and Georgia Quick Start, an economic development program dedicated to workforce training.