Middle Georgia Technical College

MGTC Announces Instructor of the Year

June 29, 2006

When Sam Lester was called onto stage during MGTC’s quarterly award’s day, no one in the audience seemed surprised. He was one of the six instructors nominated for the Rick Perkin’s Instructor of the Year Award. Even less shocking was when Mr. Lester was announced as this year’s winner.

The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction honors technical education’s most outstanding instructors. The award has been an ongoing statewide event since 1991 and is designed to recognize and honor technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields. Instructors were nominated for the Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year award by other faculty & staff at MGTC.

Sam Lester receiving his award from Dr. Ivan H. Allen, President of MGTC.

While Mr. Lester’s resume and repertoire of school and community activities is nothing but impressive, his interaction with the faculty, staff, and students at MGTC is what makes him an outstanding instructor and colleague. After growing up in Dooly County and graduating locally from Georgia Southwestern, Sam began his teaching career at the then Middle Georgia Technical Institute in 1993. While working on his Master’s degree in Education in 2000, Sam spent two weeks in the United Arab Emirates, helping revise and restructure their technical high schools. Since his time at MGTC, he became a full-time faculty member, the accounting program chair, and the Phi Beta Lambda advisor. Since his reign over PBL, Sam has helped his students win 70 district awards, 50 state awards, and 8 national awards! PBL also received the Chapter of the Year for Georgia awards in 2003 and 2004. Also in 2004, Sam was fortunate to be chosen as the Georgia PBL Advisor of the Year.

He currently serves on the Houston County Career and Technical High School Business Department Advisory Board as well as several college committees. He is also the East Central Consortium, which oversees seven colleges, accounting chair. Sam diligently works to bring the outside world into his students by hosting several business panels and guest speakers throughout each quarter. Sam strongly believes that “what we do is absolutely vital not only to our students, but to their children. By helping our students toward graduation, we increase their paychecks which increase what they can provide for their families. And by doing that, we strengthen our state’s economy and future.”

While you may catch Sam Lester joking around with students in the halls of Middle Georgia Technical College, it is no joke that he is, by far, one of technical education’s most outstanding instructors.