South Georgia Technical College

South Georgia Technical College hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Commercial Truck Driving pad located on the Crisp County Center campus at 402 N. Midway Road. The Cordele-Crisp County Chamber of Commerce and the Cordele-Crisp County Industrial Development Council also participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

“The mission of South Georgia Technical College is to further the economy of Georgia through workforce education,” said SGTC President Dr. Watford as he welcomed the individuals to the SGTC Crisp County Center CDL pad ribbon cutting. “And nothing is more critical to any economy that the trucking industry.

“Every car in this parking lot, every part in every car in this parking lot, that whole building behind you, every brick, every mortar, every chair, every desk, was delivered by a truck. When you sit down to eat at night, the groceries you eat was delivered by a truck. The farmers had to use a truck to get the seeds and pesticides and every thing necessary to grow that food. You can name just about any product in the world and it is delivered by a truck,” continued Dr. Watford.

“The trucking industry is critical and our truck driving program is by far the quickest and most cost beneficial way for an individual to get into the workforce and have a lucrative career,” explained Dr. Watford. “If you are a resident of Georgia and you qualify for the HOPE Grant and the HOPE High Demand Career Grant, out of pocket, you will pay $19 for this CDL training. You will not have to borrow a dime for the career of a lifetime. If you have a CDL, you will never have to be unemployed, you can always make a living.”

South Georgia Technical College is pleased and excited to be able to provide this program to Crisp County on its own campus with the addition of this new pad at the satellite campus. The college used grant funds and local dollars to construct the pad because there was a need for this program in Crisp County.

“Thank you to the state farmer’s market on the other side of the county for providing us a space to use for training for the past two decades. The good news is they became so busy, there was no longer enough room for us to continue at that location, so we needed one at our campus,” explained Dr. Watford.

Grant Buckley, Cordele-Crisp County Industrial Development Council Chair and SGTC Board member thanked Dr. Watford for his service and dedication to the individuals in the South Georgia Tech service area. “This is a great opportunity for our citizens,” said Buckley. “We know things don’t happen overnight but I encourage all of us to spread the word about this opportunity and the great facility here.”

Buckley then asked Tim Powell, Past Chair of the Cordele Crisp County Chamber of Commerce to come up and say a few words. “On behalf of the Crisp-Cordele Chamber of Commerce, it is an honor to stand before you as we celebrate the opening of the SGTC CDL pad at the Crisp County Center,” said Powell. “It is an exciting day, not only for South Georgia Tech, but for our entire community.”

Powell added that he had heard Chris Clark, President of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce speak recently. Clark shared that the Georgia Chamber has projected freight in our state would increase by 60% before 2050.

“That is a staggering statistic, but it underscores the importance of how critical programs like your CDL classes are to preparing a skilled workforce to meet those growing demands. On behalf of the Cordele-Crisp County Chamber of Commerce and our business community, we are deeply grateful to South Georgia Tech for their commitment to our workforce, our youth and our future.”

After those words of encouragement, Dr. Watford and other SGTC officials as well as the Cordele-Crisp County Chamber of Commerce officials and Cordele-Crisp County IDC officials held the official ribbon cutting ceremony. Taylor Hughes, the SGTC CDL Instructor for the Crisp County Center campus had the privilege to cut the ribbon.
“I appreciate the opportunity to teach these classes,” explained Hughes. “We will be hosting afternoon and evening classes on the campus and I hope to see individuals taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity.”

Tim Morgan, local pastor and retired SGTC Maintenance Director for the Crisp County Center, prepared an invocation for the event. Members of the SGTC Senior Staff, faculty, staff, students, and community members attended the event along with SGTC’s entire Commercial Truck Driving instructors.