Excellence in Education

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, December 8, 2010

    • Eric Michael McKinion has been selected to receive the Rea, Shaw, Giffin & Stuart Scholarship at Meridian Community College. 

    This $2,000 award is funded through the MCC Foundation by the local accounting firm. The employees initiate this fund each year as their Christmas gift to the partners; the partners in turn complete the scholarship designated for a student studying accounting, business technology or computer science.

    McKinion, a 2010 graduate of West Lauderdale High School, is in the University Transfer Program studying computer science. McKinion is a member of the Baptist Student Union and works MCC concessions for sporting events. He is on tap to be a calculus tutor spring semester for the MCC Success Center. McKinion goal is a career in the United States Air Force.

    • Andrew “Drew” Phillips has been selected to receive the Rodney Walker Technology Scholarship at Meridian Community College. 

    This $1,300 award is funded through the MCC Foundation from an endowment established by Tommy Dulaney in memory of his college mentor. Mr. Walker was the founding faculty member of the Drafting and Design Technology Program at MCC. He taught for 40 years.

    Phillips, a 2009 graduate of Meridian Christian Home Educators, is in the University Transfer Program at MCC. Phillips is pianist for his church, piano teacher, a member of the 4 H State Leadership Team and Lauderdale County Consumer Education Team. A President’s List scholar, he is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year college students. Phillips plans to pursue a degree in civil engineering.

    • Tambria Brenae Davis has been selected to receive the Martin Luther King Committee Scholarship at Meridian Community College. This $500 award, designated for books, is funded through the MCC Foundation by the local M.L. King Celebration Committee.

    Davis is a 2009 honor graduate of West Lauderdale High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and the basketball, softball, track and fast pitch teams. Davis is in the University Transfer Program at MCC taking courses in preparation for a career as an optometrist. A Dean’s List scholar, she is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year college students.

    • Kaitlyn Rea McDaniel and Dexter Deveon Griffin have been selected to receive the Jerry Greene Hotel Restaurant Supply Scholarships at Meridian Community College. 

    These $1,250 awards are funded through the MCC Foundation by the local food service equipment dealer. Mr. Greene was honored as the recipient of the 2010 Hartley D. Peavey Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

    McDaniel, a 2008 graduate of West Lauderdale High School, is a freshman in the Hotel/Restaurant Management Technology Program at MCC. A Dean’s List scholar, McDaniel is a member of Delta Epsilon Chi –Distributive Educational Clubs of America.  She aspires to own her own restaurant.

    Griffin, a 2010 graduate of Meridian High School, is a freshman in the Hotel Restaurant Management Technology Program. An entrepreneur in the making, Griffin wants to own his own restaurant, become a barber and a landscaper.

    • West Lauderdale School District instructors Sandy Reid and Mary Hill Shular have renewed their National Board Certification for Teachers.

    National Board Certification is an advanced teaching credential which complements, but does not replace, a state’s teacher license. It is valid for 10 years and renewal candidates must begin the renewal process during their eighth or ninth years as NBCTs.

    National Board Certification is achieved upon successful completion of a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize effective and accomplished teachers who meet high standards based on what teachers should know and be able to do. The certification is available nationwide for most PreK-12 teachers.

    After earning their initial certifications in 2001, Reid and Shular met requirements for recertification this year. The renewal provides them national board status through November 2021.

    Reid is senior English instructor at West Lauderdale High School. Shular teaches Career Discovery at West Lauderdale Middle School.

    • Kennedy Smith, a junior at Enterprise High School, has been selected to participate in EMEPA’s Youth Tour program for the 2010-11 school year.

    Each area high school nominated one 11th grade student for participation in the annual leadership program. These students are selected based on their academic records, extra-curricular activities, community service and leadership skills. The students gathered for a one-day workshop in Meridian where they were trained on the cooperative business model, the utility industry and the national Youth Tour program. The following day, each participant was interviewed by a panel from the community and other electric power associations in Mississippi. 

    All participants will attend a three-day Youth Leadership Workshop in Jackson in March 2011. During the workshop, students will participate in activities to strengthen their leadership skills and meet with legislators at the Capitol. In addition to the Jackson workshop, Kennedy has been selected to attend the 2011 Youth Leadership Tour in Washington, D.C., in June. She will meet with Mississippi’s senators and representatives and tour the nation’s capital.

    Kennedy is the daughter of Tanya Mayatt and Jody Smith. She is a high honors student and varsity cheerleader at Enterprise High School, where she is also involved in the Beta Club, SADD and FCA. Kennedy is a member of Bucatunna Baptist Church.

    •  The following Northeast Middle School student were winners in the recent Reading Fair:

    Individual Categories: Grade 5, Division E –Kayla Powe, first place; Jacob Leake, second place; Trey Gladwell, third place; Timothy Clayton, Braxton Lee, Brianna Hall, Katie Hoover, Keylie Chancelor, Saia Jennings, Virginia Cardwell McKenzie Rigdon and Joseph Covington, honorable mention

    Individual Categories: Grades 6-8, Division F: Kimberly Cook, first place; Noel Vicencio, second place; Breanne Brooks, third place; Hannah Brasuell, Duncan Ziller, Nikki Harrington, Brandy Williams and Jackson Kercheval, honorable mention

    Group Project Categories: Grades 4-8, Division I: Tori Griffith and Taylor Gore, first place; Alexis Hendrix and Kayla Wallace, second place; and Tori Johnson and Heather Lee

    Family Project Categories: Grades 4-8, Division L:  Jonah Null, first place; Brinnon Powell, second place

    Non-fiction Individual Categories: Grades 4-8, Division M: Brooks Culpepper, first place; Markevis Bennett, second place.

    • A Hollywood theme and positive behavior words of respect, responsibility and self-control equals success for Newton County Middle School student, Shelby Kennedy.  Shelby’s artwork was selected and used to design the 2010-11 Positive Behavior Spirit shirt. She was presented a certificate and rewards, compliments of Ward’s-Decatur.   

    • STARKVILLE – Daniel H. Johnson of Union has been recognized as a member of Sigma Alpha Lambda, national leadership and honors organization at Mississippi State University.

    • HATTIESBURG – Meridian native Dalton Newell has accepted membership in Golden Key International Honor Society and was honored during a recent new member recognition event at the University of Southern Mississippi.

    • Bonita Lakes Mall Chick-fil-A team members Ashley Green, Michael Nobles and Ashley Shier have been awarded the chain’s Leadership Scholarship program.

    Each was awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the 37-year-old scholarship program. Green is studying nursing at East Central Community College. Nobles attends Meridian Community College. Shier is studying psychology at Meridian Community College.

    • DECATUR – Joseph O. Knight was recently named director of Workforce Development at East Central Community College.

    Knight, an ECCC staff member since 2005, previously served as Workforce Development coordinator.

    In his new role, Knight’s duties include serving as a liaison between district businesses and industries and the College. He also works with industrial development groups, the State Employment Service, economic development representatives and civic organizations to establish and maintain an environment desirable for the employment community.

    Prior to joining ECCC’s Workforce Development staff, Knight served as Director of Quality Assurance/Manufacturing/Maintenance at Chahta Enterprise in Philadelphia, where he is also a former plant manager, General Supervisor of Production and Production Supervisor. In addition, he is a former plant superintendent at Chahta Enterprise in DeKalb.

    A 1987 graduate of Neshoba Central High School, Knight attended ECCC in 1987-89 and received a bachelor’s degree in general business from Mississippi State University in 1991. He continued his education at MSU, receiving a master’s degree in workforce education in 2009.

    Knight is married to former Lisa St. Louis of Poplarville and they have a son, Jeff.  The family resides in the House community.

    • DECATUR – Deana W. Cumberland of Philadelphia was recently selected WIA/Dislocated Worker Program coordinator at East Central Community College.

    Cumberland, who began her duties with the College’s Workforce Development staff on Nov. 1, previously served as an employment interviewer for the Mississippi Department of Employment Security in Philadelphia, a position she held since June 2002.

    She has also served as an assistant transcript evaluator in the Registrar’s Office at Mississippi State University in Starkville and is a former information technology and accountant recruiter for the Betty Nash Employment Agency in Tupelo.

    Cumberland is involved in various community activities, currently serving as publicity chair for the Neshoba County Relay for Life and promotions committee member for the Philadelphia Main Street Association.

    A 1994 graduate of Noxapater High School, Cumberland received an associate’s degree from ECCC in 1996 and earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Mississippi State University in 1998. She returned to ECCC in 2002-03 and completed coursework in business administration. She has also attended numerous employment-related workshops and received training in a variety of business topics.

    She is married to Brian Cumberland, comptroller at Chahta Holding Group, and has two daughters, Samantha West and Cynthia Cumberland.