ATLANTA, GA - South Georgia Technical College was featured prominently at the first ever “A Taste of TCSG” event, which was heralded as a night celebrating The Technical College System of Georgia Foundation. The event was held at the Georgia Power building in Atlanta recently.
Governor Nathan Deal was the featured speaker which spotlighted some of the top students and alumni in the Technical College System of Georgia as well as TCSG Commissioner Gretchen Corbin and her staff, the Technical College System of Georgia State Board members and the TCSG Foundation trustees. All 22 of the Presidents of the technical colleges in Georgia were represented at the prestigious event.
Dan Linginfelter, a 1979 aviation maintenance graduate from South Georgia Technical College, was presented with an outstanding alumni award from Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and TCSG Commissioner Gretchen Corbin.
Governor Deal introduced Linginfelter, who is currently serving as a Senior Airworthiness Inspector for Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah. Linginfelter used his education from South Georgia Technical College where he earned an A & P (Airframe and Powerplant) license to make a tremendous impact in the aviation maintenance industry. He is currently living on St. Simons Island and enjoying his second “retirement” job.
He joined Gulfstream in 2015 after working with Certified Aviation Services, a leading provider of MRO services for fleet operators around the world. He served as Director of Operations and was responsible for supporting CAS management and staff in both East Coast and West Coast stations as well as Los Angeles, Seattle, Ontario, CA; San Diego, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Prior to that he had retired from Delta Air Lines, where he worked for 32 years, most recently as Atlanta Station Manager, International.
Governor Deal introduced a five-minute video of Linginfelter talking about value of a technical education and his experiences at South Georgia Tech in Americus, GA. Linginfelter gave credit to the college and his instructors for helping him reach his goal of a rewarding career in aviation maintenance.
Governor Deal also read a statement from Linginfelter’s former instructor, Mr. Frank Gassett of Macon County, who was unable to attend the event. The statement read: “I am so sorry that I could not be with you tonight, but I am past the age of driving to Atlanta. I would like to convey my gratitude to my former student, Mr. Daniel Linginfelter. I am so proud of you and your many accomplishments. I have been retired now for over 32 years, but it was a joy for me to be able to share my love of aviation maintenance with you and many others. Hopefully the lessons you learned at South Georgia Tech prepared you for life and for a rewarding career. Congratulations on your successes!”
Then Governor Deal and Commissioner Corbin asked Linginfelter to the podium and presented him with the Distinguished Alumni award and gave him the opportunity to speak to the individuals at the event.
In addition to spotlighting South Georgia Technical College distinguished alumni Daniel Linginfelter, the event also included a tribute to South Georgia Technical College’s 2016 GOAL student, Ashley Rodgers of Macon County, who is also serving as the TCSG Goal Winner for 2016.
Rodgers was able to tell the individuals at the event about her experiences at South Georgia Tech and how technical education had helped her to realize her goals and dreams. She graduated from South Georgia Tech with a marketing management associate of applied science degree in 2016 and is now continuing her education at Macon State University.
In addition to those two outstanding representatives from South Georgia Tech, Yesmeen Jiles, a former GOAL student from Atlanta Tech, and Desmond Vaird, the EAGLE student from Lanier Technical College, were given the opportunity to talk about their experiences with technical education.
Chris Cummiskey of Georgia Power, welcomed the special guests and thanked everyone for coming out to highlight the outstanding accomplishments of students and alumni within the Technical college system. TCSG Commissioner Gretchen Corbin thanked Governor Deal and others for their involvement with technical education and then spotlighted some of the accomplishments of the different colleges.
She recognized Southeastern Technical College as the 2016 College of Year and then congratulated South Georgia Tech and West Georgia Tech for being selected as the finalists in that competition. She also spotlighted Savannah Technical College as the top college in the nation for serving veterans.
John Pemberton and Corinne Hodges from the Technical College System of Georgia Foundation also spoke briefly about how the state foundation and the individual foundations at each college are so important to the students attending the 22 technical colleges in Georgia.
Georgia Power and Kia Motors Manufacturing of Georgia were the sponsors of the event. Students from Atlanta Technical College served as ambassadors. The centerpieces on the tables were provided by Wiregrass Georgia Technical College and West Georgia Technical College provided the desserts for the event.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (l) is shown above presenting Daniel Linginfelter, Sr. (r) with his Distinguished Alumni Award.
Ashley Rodgers of Macon County, is shown above speaking at the “A Taste of TCSG” event in Atlanta. She is the SGTC and TCSG State Goal Winner for 2016.
