AMERICUS — Three South Georgia Technical College instructors have been selected as finalists for SGTC’s 2010 Instructor of the Year award. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) instructors Jaye Cripe of the Americus campus and Lisa Penton of the Cordele campus, along with Mike Enfinger, industrial electrical technology instructor on the Cordele campus, will go before a selection committee to determine who will be named South Georgia Tech’s Instructor of the Year for 2010.

The selection committee consists of Juanita Wilson of Americus, who serves as the chairperson of the committee, Patricia Simmons of Montezuma and Hal Carter of Cordele. Juanita Wilson is an Americus City Council member and the retired principal of Americus-Sumter County High School, Patricia Simmons serves as the area specialist for the United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development in Fort Valley and Hal Carter is the owner of Carter Appraisal and Real Estate Services in Cordele.

Instructor of the year nominee Jaye Cripe of Americus has been employed at South Georgia Tech since 1993, where she began as a part-time adult literacy instructor. In 1998, she became a full-time adult literacy instructor. In 2000, she became the adult literacy workplace coordinator, and finally the early childhood care and education instructor in 2006. Before coming to SGTC, Cripe was employed with the Sumter County School System, as well as Peachtree Migrant Education Agency.

Cripe is a member of both the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Georgia Association for the Education of Young Children. She is a volunteer for the American Red Cross and a member of Central Baptist Church. She is involved with Visions for Sumter, the Southwest Georgia Child Care Resource and Referral advisory board, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning and Head Start/Hilton Foundation Special Quest Birth-Five.

Lisa Penton of Cordele, early childhood care and education instructor for SGTC’s Cordele campus, has also been involved in the ECCE program as an instructor since its inception in 2006. Before coming to SGTC, she was employed with the Crisp County School System as a third grade teacher, an elementary school counselor and a pre-K teacher.

Penton holds certificates of completion for training in dealing with oppositional defiant disorder, prevention of youth violence, second step training (parent and student component) and high school curriculum training for Pre-K instructors. She is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Cordele and has volunteered for the Crisp County Recreational Department as an assistant coach for little league sports.

As an active member of the Family Connection Collaborative Committee, Penton assisted in facilitating Crisp County’s first Teen Maze. She also coordinated with the committee and students in the early childhood program to assist with Crisp County’s father-daughter dance.

Mike Enfinger of Americus, industrial electrical technology instructor for the Cordele campus, has been employed with SGTC since 1999. He has served as both the air conditioning technology instructor for the Americus campus and the industrial electrical technology instructor for the Cordele campus.

Prior to being an instructor at SGTC, Enfinger was the assistant maintenance director at the Sumter County Board of Education in Americus; the maintenance, electrical and HVAC craftman at Northrop Grumman Corporation in Perry, service specialist at Johnson Controls in Mobile, Ala., heating, ventilation and air conditioning mechanic 1 at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus.

Enfinger has also been the President/Owner of Enfinger’s Appliance and Heating/Air Conditioning in Americus since 1983. He was a member of Northrop Grumman Corporation Quality Team of the year in 1992 and earned the Georgia Class 1 Conditioned Air Contractor Certification in 1986.

The instructor of the year selection committee will interview each candidate and decide who will be named South Georgia Technical College’s instructor of the year.

The 2010 instructor of the year will be announced at an awards banquet at South Georgia Tech on March 2nd. SGTC’s GOAL winner will also be announced at the banquet.

SGTC’s Instructor of the Year will then compete at the South Georgia consortium level on March 24th at East Central Technical College in Fitzgerald against other Instructors of the Year from Technical Colleges in South Georgia for the regional Rick Perkins award. Two winners will be chosen from each consortium level, but will not be announced until the Rick Perkins Award banquet in May, where the state Rick Perkins award winner will also be announced.

All instructor of the year winners from the Technical College System of Georgia and University System of Georgia Colleges with Technical Divisions will go to Atlanta in May for the Rick Perkins award banquet, where the state winner will be announced.

“I am very excited about all three of our nominees. They are excellent instructors and any of them would make a great ambassador for technical education in the state of Georgia,” said SGTC Vice President for Academic Affairs Robbie Latimore.