South Georgia Technical College’s Cosmetology Instructor Dorothea Lusane McKenzie was recognized by SGTC President Emeritus Sparky Reeves’ wife, Allene Reeves, recently after McKenzie was named the SGTC 2026 Outstanding Instructor of the Year. The late Sparky Reeves and his wife, Allene, established an endowed fund with the South Georgia Technical College Foundation to honor the college’s Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year and Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) student annually.
Allene Reeves made the presentation to Dorothea Lusane McKenzie at the SGTC 2026 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year breakfast recently in front of the SGTC faculty and staff. She will return to present the college’s top GOAL student with a stiped on January 14 at the GOAL luncheon.
“On behalf of our family, I would like to say thank you and congratulations,” said Allene Reeves. “Sparky and I were both educators and I know what a difference instructors make in the lives of their students. This is a well-deserved honor.”
Allene Reeves also thanked all of the SGTC faculty and staff for their dedication and hard work. “South Georgia Technical College is very special to our family and each of you are making a difference in our community.”
“Congratulations again, Dorothea McKenzie, on receiving this award,” continued Reeves. “I hope you will continue to represent South Georgia Technical College at the next level and continue to inspire and encourage your students.”
Following those comments, Allene Reeves presented Mary Cross with a check on behalf of the Sparky and Allene Reeves Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year fund for being the 2026 Instructor of the Year.
Dorothea McKenzie is the 11th recipient of the Sparky and Allene Reeves Instructor of the Year stipend. McKenzie’s sister, Mary Cross, received the award in 2025. Andrea Ingram, a Computer Information Systems Instructor, was the first recipient of the award in 2016 and Charles Christmas, an Aviation Maintenance Instructor, was selected in 2017. Teresa McCook, the Americus campus Criminal Justice Instructor, received the award in 2018, Law Enforcement Academy Director Brett Murray was recognized in 2019, Cosmetology Instructor Dorothea Lusane McKenzie earned the honor in 2020 and Culinary Arts Instructor Chef “Ricky” Ludwig Watzlowick was named in 2021. Starlyn Sampson, auto collision and repair instructor, received the award in 2022 and Chester Taylor, math instructor, was the recipient in 2023. Dr. Michelle Williams Seay, psychology instructor, represented the college in 2024 and was a regional finalist in the state competition.
President Emeritus Reeves and Allene endowed this special fund with the South Georgia Technical College Foundation in 2010 and have been growing the fund for the past sixteen years in order to be able to recognize and honor the outstanding instructor and top student at South Georgia Technical College each year.
“This is a tremendous honor for us to be able to give back to the best of the best each year,” said South Georgia Technical College President Emeritus Sparky Reeves when he first endowed the fund. “Students may be the lifeblood of South Georgia Technical College but our instructors are the heartbeat. We are thrilled to be able to give back to our top instructor and our top student each year.”
Reeves joined the South Georgia Technical College faculty in 1973 as an Accounting, Math, and Business Psychology Instructor. In addition to teaching, he also served as a Supervisor, Evening Coordinator, Vice President of Economic Development and President. He retired in 2015. He passed away in 2023.
After accepting the stipend from the Reeves’, McKenzie thanked Mrs. Reeves and her co-workers. “I am very grateful to be selected as the Instructor of the Year. I appreciate your support of this program and the instructors. I will do my best to make you and South Georgia Technical College proud,” said McKenzie. McKenzie was the 2020 Instructor of the Year and was a regional finalist. However, due to COVID everything was done virtually.
McKenzie will represent South Georgia Technical College at regional and state competitions in an effort to be selected as the top instructor within the Technical College System of Georgia.
“On behalf of South Georgia Technical College, I would like to thank the Reeves’ family for their continued support of South Georgia Technical College, its instructors and its students,” said SGTC President Dr. John Watford. “South Georgia Technical College has a legacy and Sparky and Allene Reeves embody that legacy. They have been special to South Georgia Tech for many years and today they demonstrated again why they mean so much to the college, its faculty, staff, and students,” added Dr. Watford.
SGTC Academic Dean Dr. David Finley spearheaded the Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year efforts, and thanked Dorothea McKenzie for her service to the college.
For more information about how to donate or establish an endowed scholarship at South Georgia Technical College, contact Su Ann Bird, SGTC Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Foundation Executive Director at 229-931-2011 or sbird@southgatech.edu. Tax deductible donations may also be mailed to the SGTC Foundation, P.O. Box 6102, Americus GA 31709.