From STAFF REPORTS

“A woman of many talents who always has the best interest of students at heart,” is the way one South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) official described SGTC Vice President of Administrative Services Janice Worth Davis, who will be retiring from her position after over 24 years on May 31.
“If there was ever any one person, who is and has been totally committed to South Georgia Technical College and its students, that would be Janice Davis,” said SGTC President, Dr. John Watford, when he gave his remarks at the special retirement luncheon held in the John M. Pope Center on the Americus campus recently to celebrate the contributions that Janice W. Davis has made to SGTC.
Former SGTC Presidents, Jon Johnson and Sparky Reeves, joined Watford and members of the faculty and staff as well as retirees at the luncheon to show their appreciation to Davis and thank her for the contributions that she has made to SGTC as an instructor, Vice President of Administrative Services (VPA), and as an Interim President, twice.
“We have five of the most recent presidents of South Georgia Technical College here today,” remarked Watford. “Jon Johnson who served as President from 1996 until 2004, Janice Davis who was acting President after Jon Johnson retired. Then we have President Sparky Reeves, who served from 2004 to 2015, and then Janice Davis again. She was the acting President between Sparky Reeves and myself. So with the four of us here, Janice has served as President twice which makes for five of the most recent Presidents,” laughed Watford after he thanked Janice for her valuable service.
Reeves, who supervised Davis for 11 years added that, “South Georgia Technical College would not be where it is today without Janice Davis. She always wanted to do the right thing for students and for the college and I appreciate her and thank her so much.”
Johnson, served as Davis’ supervisor when she was an Accounting Instructor when he was the Vice President for Instructional Services, and then later when he became President and she was the VPA for the college. “I want to congratulate Janice on a successful career here and to thank her for filling in twice when there was not a president. She could really run this college and I think she did just that many times,” laughed Johnson, who added, “I know I always tried not to make her too mad, because she controlled the finances.”
Davis, who worked as a Manager/Client Executive and Certified Public Accountant for 14 years including seven years at Mauldin & Jenkins, CPAs in Albany, joined SGTC in 1992 as an instructor. Three years later, she was selected to serve as the Vice President of Administrative Services. She is a CPA as well as a Certified Governmental Financial Manager (CGFM), and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). She earned her Master of Accountancy from the University of Georgia and has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Valdosta State University.
As the Vice President of Administrative Services, Davis, oversaw the financial operations of the college including the business office, purchasing and receiving, financial aid, and the bookstore operations. She was also the first Athletic Director for the college and also oversaw the residence halls, campus safety, campus life, and cafeteria operations in addition to personnel and Title IX duties.
“I want to thank everyone for being here today,” said Davis.  “I have so many friends and co-workers and I have wonderful memories of all of you and this special place. I attended a leadership summit in Cordele last week and one of the sessions asked, ‘Why do you come to work and why are you here?’”
“Of course we all come for a pay check” she continued. “But it needs to be so much more than that. We need to enjoy what we do because we spend a lot of time at work.” Davis who also challenged the employees tofind something else to do if they don’t like what they are doing.
“South Georgia Technical College is a great place to work, because it is not about buildings… it is about people,” said Davis. “We are here to make it better for our students and that is a great reason to come to work. I enjoyed my teaching. As an instructor, you watch students and you see them come in and as they grasp the material, they begin to bloom and then you get to see them really blossom as they approach graduation. That is very rewarding.”
“I have enjoyed my career here and getting to know so many wonderful people not only at South Georgia Technical College, but also throughout the Technical College System of Georgia and at other colleges,” said Davis. “We have a great college here and I encourage everyone to support our new President and Senior Staff. We are doing things that are making a difference in the lives of our students and our community.”
At the conclusion of Davis’ remarks, Watford presented her with a plaque honoring her dedicated service as well as two Presidential Lifetime passes to the Jets and Lady Jets basketball games.
“You will always have a home here at South Georgia Technical College,” said Watford.  “We thank you for what you have done for this community and this college.”