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The ADVANCE, October 18, 2023/Page 11A
MoCo
continued from page 1A
Edwards, we are a better
school because of you and
our community is a better
community because of you
and your family Thank you
for your service.”
Edwards was selected
by her peers as the Mont
gomery County Middle
School Teacher of the
Year prior to the ceremo
ny. Once having been se
lected, she completed es
says which were judged by
three administrators from
outside the school system,
who also observed Ed
wards teach a lesson dur
ing the school day. These
observations and judging
were converted into scores
- the highest score deter
mined the System Teacher
of the Year.
Other Teachers of the
Year
Jessie Jarrard
The Montgom
ery County Elementary
School Teacher of the Year
is Kindergarten Teacher
Jessie Jarrard. During the
ceremonial breakfast,
Montgomery County El
ementary School Principal
Eric Burns spoke on Jarrard
and her enthusiasm for her
career.
“Kindergarten is pretty
tough, but Mrs. Jarrard is a
wonderful teacher,” he be
gan. “For the past couple
of years, she has had the
opportunity to have ex
ceptional learning students
mixed in with her class,
and days when I walk by
passing her classroom, she
always says, ‘Come on in to
the circus!’ But, you know,
when she says that - there
is a lot of different things
that take place in a circus,
but there is normally that
one major big ring that ev
erybody is watching. Well,
although her classroom is a
circus, there’s that one ma
jor thing going on - she’s
teaching those kids and
loving those kids day in
and day out regardless of
where they’re at.”
He continued, “If she
has students that are at dif
ferent levels, she is meet
ing them at their level and
encouraging them to con
tinue forward and do their
very best. Through all of
that, those students know
that she loves them and
that she cares. She does an
excellent job at building
relationships with our stu
dents, our parents, and our
community as well.”
Burns went on to share
that Jarrard’s coworkers re
fer to her as the “Techno-
Teacher” for Kindergarten,
because she is always look
ing for new technology
and programs to help keep
students enthusiastic and
involved in their education.
Ashley Lynn
Montgomery County
High School 9th and 10th
Grade English Language
Arts Teacher Ashley Lynn
was selected by his peers as
the Montgomery County
High School Teacher of the
Year.
“Mr. Lynn has been
with us 15 years - that is
awesome to be in the same
school system for 15 years,
and to know that he is driv
ing from a county over
that has a teacher shortage
where he could work closer
to home. He even passes a
couple schools while com
ing to our place,” Barrow
emphasized. “We need to
hold on to people like that.
I think you are doing that
because you’re dedicated
to our students and you’re
dedicated to our school.
We appreciate you.”
Barrow went on to
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
TEACHERS OF THE YEAR - The celebration breakfast also highlighted all Teachers of the
Year within the school system, who were chosen at each level by their colleagues. L
to R: Assistant Superintendent Brian Barnhill, Montgomery County Elementary School
Teacher of the Year Jessie Jarrard, Montgomery County Schools System Teacher of the
Year Carlena Edwards, Superintendent Stan Rentz, Montgomery County High School
Teacher of the Year Ashley Lynn, Assistant Superintendent Beverly Faircloth.
- ifljlp -
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
SUPPORT PEOPLE OF THE YEAR - The celebration breakfast also highlighted all Support
People of the Year within the school system, who were chosen at each level by their
colleagues. Because of Ricks' absence due to a bus emergency, his wife accepted
his award. Lto R: Assistant Superintendent Brian Barnhill, Montgomery County Elemen
tary School Support Person of the Year Harold "Boo" Quarterman Jr., Montgomery
County Middle/High School Support Person of the Year Christy Hudson, Superintendent
Stan Rentz, Sherelle Ricks, Assistant Superintendent Beverly Faircloth,
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
A LATE ARRIVAL - Montgomery County Schools District
Support Person of the Year Reggie Ricks did not arrive
to the ceremonial breakfast until the conclusion of the
event due to having to rescue a bus stuck in a ditch on
a county dirt road. L to R: Superintendent Stan Rentz,
Montgomery County Schools District Support Person of
the Year Reggie Ricks, Assistant Superintendent Beverly
Faircloth.
share how he admires
Lynn’s calm demeanor.
“If you’ve ever been in the
classroom, you know that
students can press your
buttons. But he’s always go
ing to be calm; he’s not go
ing to let things escalate or
get worse.”
Support People of the
Year
Beginning last year,
Montgomery County
Schools also celebrates
the Elementary School,
Middle/High School, and
District Support People
of the Year within the
schools. These individuals
are announced and hon
ored alongside the Teach
ers of the Year at the annual
breakfast ceremony.
Harold "Boo” Quarterman
Jr
Harold Quarterman Jr.
- known to most as “Boo”
- was selected as the Mont
gomery County Elementa
ry School Support Person
of the Year.
“Boo is the right hand
to me at the elementary
school,” Burns explained.
“There is a lot of times
when I will call Boo and
say, ‘Hey, Boo, I need you
to do this,’ and he’ll tell
me, ‘What are you talking
about? It’s already done!’
A lot of times, he finishes
the sentence before I even
have the opportunity to.
He goes above and beyond
- there is not a day that I
don’t ask him to do some
thing and he doesn’t do it
with a smile on his face.”
Burns continued, “He
left us for a short while -
we thought he’d graduate
and go to the high school,
but he wanted to come
back to the elementary
school. We are very blessed
to have him. He does an
excellent job. He’s fulfilling
some big shoes behind his
father, Mr. Harold [Quar
terman Sr.].”
Christy Hudson
Montgomery County
Middle/High School Para-
professional Christy Hud
son was selected by her
peers as the school’s Sup
port Person of the Year.
Hudson works with
the school’s department of
exceptional learners, where
she often goes above and
beyond her call of duty. “It
takes a special person to do
what you do, Mrs. Hud
son,” Barrow remarked.
“If y’all knew half the re
sponsibilities she handled,
you would be amazed she
doesn’t run away from that
position.”
He added, “Just what
she does from 7:30 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m. every day is
enough to be here as Sup
port Person of the Year, but
it doesn’t stop there - it is
what happens after 3:30
p.m. and the responsibili
ties she’s taken on, whether
it be making sure students
have food and clothes, a
ride, or somewhere to stay,
it is going above and be
yond. You can tell she re
ally loves her students.”
Barrow also highlight
ed Hudson’s dedication
to working the football
concession stand for ev
ery home game, which he
said requires planning and
preparation throughout
the week, as well as exten
sive work on game days.
“Our school is taken
to another level because of
what you do every day and
because of your volunteer
ing and your recruitment
of your family that live
with you - we get a lot of
bang for our buck with you.
Thank you so much,” he
concluded.
Reggie Ricks
Montgomery County
Schools Transportation
Director Reggie Ricks was
selected by the Montgom
ery County Board of Edu
cation office as the District
Support Person of the Year.
Ricks was unable to at
tend the ceremony because
of working to help a school
bus, which was stuck in a
ditch on Joe Hilton Road
due to heavy rain. “This is
exactly why he is our Sup
port Person of the Year.
What can’t be said about
Reggie that people don’t
already know? The hard
worker he is and the time
that he puts in - just every
thing that comes between
those two things are in
credible,” Assistant Super
intendent Brian Barnhill
commented.
Candidates
continued from page 10A
from Troy State University
in Public Administration
after my Communications
degree. I worked for about
15 years in the hospital
and the healthcare system
doing their communica
tions following tourism
communications, so I have
a little bit of experience in
that area. It is not intend
ed to be a flex, but I did
get multiple - dozens and
dozens of - state and na
tional awards in commu
nications, so I know that I
am able to build systems
because I have done it. It
is one of the things that I
feel like I could bring to
the city.
I know that it is diffi
cult to represent the voice
of 10,710 citizens of the
city of Vidalia, but I think
there’s ways to push/pull
communications. I was
once a two-time president
of the Georgia Society for
Healthcare Marketing and
Public Relations, and one
of the things that we did is
we were a body of five who
represented 147 health-
Barnhill went on to
share a quote from Presi
dent Harry Truman, which
read, “It is amazing what
you go on to accomplish
when you do not care who
gets the credit.” He empha
sized the truth in this state
ment that has been seen
through Ricks’ work, as he
labors not for his own glo
ry, but the wellbeing of the
school. Barnhill also shared
a personal story about the
character of Ricks, as Ricks
came to Barnhill’s house
on a Saturday afternoon
to help install a ceiling fan
without having been asked
or desiring any thanks.
“He is a tireless work
er, he has a caring nature
about him, and a can-do
attitude. We are so grateful
for all that he does for this
school system,” Barnhill
concluded.
Comments
During the event, a
video was shown of Dr.
Manny Scott speaking on
a time when he told an
audience, “You can bring
a horse to water, but can’t
make it drink.” After tell
ing the audience this cli
che, Smith explained that
a Texan had told him that
you could not make a horse
drink water, but it could be
given a salt lick to make it
thirsty.
This concept has be
come the driving force
behind the Montgomery
County School System’s
mission, according to Su
perintendent Stan Rentz.
“You heard Dr. Manny
Scott talking about staying
salty - we knew immedi
ately that we wanted that
to be our school system’s
care systems across the
state of Georgia - that’s a
lot of information to pull
in. So, we developed sub
committees - I think that
is one of the opportuni
ties we have within the city
that we can develop those.
These are things that I
have done. Again, I think
it builds a level of transpar
ency and accountability
that perhaps we need in
the city.
I understand that it
must be difficult to run a
city - I understand that.
But there have been things
that I have been concerned
with in the past four years.
I was going to run in the
2019 election; however,
my children were much
smaller at that point. Now,
there are things that I still
see that are opportunities
within the city.
We have not had fi
nancial [reports] in almost
five months - I see that as
problematic. I think there
are opportunities in that.
In the last report that I
had, there were 11 police
officers and 11 open posi
tions for certified police
officers within the city. We
have a crime problem - we
theme,” he explained. “We
challenge our teachers to
find that salt - what is it that
makes our students want to
be thirsty for knowledge?
That is a complex task - it
is an individualized task.
Every student has different
needs and different wants.
Our teachers have definite
ly met that challenge.”
He went on to con
gratulate the teachers and
support people for their ac
complishment and honor,
highlighting the impor
tance of their job by shar
ing, “teaching affects eter
nity.”
Board of Education
Chairman Henry Price
concluded the ceremony
with his thoughts. “Mont
gomery County is a great
place to live and a great
place to send your children
to school,” he shared. “I am
extremely happy God saw
fit to put me here in this
county.”
He continued, “I was
thinking this morning
about Daniel [in the Bible],
and how Daniel’s faith was
strong and he did not stop
what he was doing. That
reminds me so much of the
staff here at Montgomery
County Schools. They do
not stop or waiver for any
thing. They continue on
for the best efforts of the
children in this communi
ty. We have a great county
and a great school system.
We are a family - we work
together when we’re happy
and hurt. You cannot find
that in other school sys
tems. Be proud of where
you are and who you are,
and we are proud of who
you are and all that you’ve
accomplished.”
do. The only reason that
we have two of those posi
tions filled is because we
hired two officers; we did
have 13 open positions,
but we hired those two
officers fairly recently. I
have heard countless times
[about brown water], I’m
not impacted by brown
water in the city of Vida
lia, but I can throw a stone
at the closest house [that
is]. I know that it is a long
term problem, but I’d like
to see a long-term solution
to that. What does it look
like in 20 years from now?
I know that brown water is
an issue; I have a kid that
comes home from Sally
D. Meadows Elementary
School with a headache
because he can’t drink the
brown water while he’s
at school, so I think that
there’s lots of opportuni
ties for change.
I have lots and lots of
ideas. Eve lived here for
ever. If you know me, you
know I’m really energetic
and ready to serve if you
elect me to serve you.”
Harvill was asked the
Please see Candidates
page12A