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By Su Ann Bird

 

 

AMERICUS – Michael Slade Dominick, Jr. of Plains, GA was awarded the South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) Foundation Sumter EMC Electrical Lineworker Scholarship recently.  SGTC President Dr. John Watford made the presentation along with other SGTC officials.  Dominick was awarded the scholarship based on his work ethics, academics, and overall class performance.

Andrea Walker, Chairman of the Sumter EMC Foundation, sent her congratulations to Dominick for being nominated and selected for this scholarship.  “One of the seven guiding principles that govern the way Sumter EMC operates is involvement in the communities we serve.  This partnership with South Georgia Technical College is a great example of how good things happen when people in a community work together for a common goal.  Through this grant from the Sumter EMC Foundation, we get to support local education by providing scholarship funds to deserving students,” said Walker.

Sumter EMC is a locally owned and operated electric cooperative serving Chattahoochee, Dougherty, Lee, Marion, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell and Webster counties. The Sumter EMC endowed scholarship at SGTC is designed to help the students who reside in Sumter EMC’s electric cooperative area and who are enrolled in one of the following programs:  Electrical Line Worker, Industrial Electrical, and/or Drafting Technology.

SGTC President Dr. John Watford thanked Walker and the Sumter EMC Foundation for their support of the SGTC Foundation and the college itself.  “We are so appreciative of the support that our college and students receive from Sumter Electric and their foundation,” said Dr. Watford.  “Partnerships are crucial to our success and we appreciate the partnership that we have built with Sumter EMC.  They are helping our students, college, and community ‘move forward.’”

Dominick thanked the South Georgia Technical College Foundation and the Sumter EMC Foundation for their support of this program and students.  “I am very appreciative of this program and these scholarship opportunities.  All of the guys in the program, myself included, started the Electrical Line Worker program to better ourselves, our careers and our futures.  I am so grateful to be a part of this program and to have an opportunity to earn a scholarship,” said Dominick.

Over 500 students have graduated from this eight-week program that has a 99% job placement rating.  The median annual wage for electricians, line installers and repairers is between $50,000 and $60,000 per year with the potential to reach six figures.

SGTC partnered with Sumter Electric Membership Corporation, Georgia Power and other power companies, electric cooperatives and others to initiate the Electrical Lineworker Program.  There was a need by these companies to replace or replenish retiring workers.  Students in the Electrical Lineworker Apprentice program undergo training in the classroom, on an actual skills field with electrical poles and platforms, earn a Commercial Truck Driving Class B License and then participate in observation-based on-the-job training.

In the classroom, students learn about the AC/DC electrical theory, field training, occupational safety, teamwork, line construction theory, line clearance, rigging, transformers, basic telecommunications, and utility metering.  Approximately two-thirds of the program is devoted to strenuous hands-on skills allowing students to develop a high degree of proficiency in the electrical line working equipment and procedures.  All SGTC Electrical Line worker students earn a CDL Class A or B license as part of the program.  To be employed as an electrical lineworker, students must be able to drive the Bucket and Digger trucks and trailers that carry the electrical poles.

For more information about the Electrical Lineworker program at SGTC or to apply for the next class, contact Tami Blount at 229-931-2040 or tblount@southgatech.edu.

South Georgia Technical College offers over 200 associate degree, diploma, or technical certificate of credit classes.  The college has a 99% job place for graduates and offers lifetime career placement services.  Financial aid is available for qualified students.  For more information about applying to South Georgia Technical College, visit www.southgatech.edu or contact the admissions office at 229-931-2394 in Americus or 229-271-4040 in Cordele.