Here’s another round of applause for individuals and organizations doing great things in the community.

The Lowndes County Board of Education honored three Title I schools at its recent meeting. Lake Park Elementary School and Pine Grove Elementary School were recognized as high performing, said Julie Klein, Lowndes County Schools pre-K to 5 director of curriculum. High-performing schools perform among the highest 5 percent of Title I schools in Georgia. Clyattville Elementary School was recognized as high progress. High-progress schools perform among the highest 10 percent of Title I schools in the state based on the three year-average of College and Career Ready Performance Index progress scores.

The state recently recognized a South Georgia veterans program. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Military and Veterans Services Coordinator Tabora Temple was among four college representatives in the Technical College System of Georgia recognized recently with a resolution by legislators in Atlanta, according to a press release. Temple traveled to the state capital for the occasion. The resolution recognized Wiregrass Tech for being ranked 13th in the nation as a military-friendly technical college, according to the press release. Temple was named in the resolution for her outstanding work on behalf of our brave veterans and extended best wishes for continued success, according to Wiregrass. 

The accolades continue for the Valdosta Wildcats, who were honored Tuesday under the Gold Dome for winning the 2016 state championship. Coach Alan Rodemaker and four players – Jared Allen, Josh Belton, Devonnsha Maxwell and Jontae Baker – appeared before the House of Representatives, which passed a resolution congratulating the team. “When we built this football team and our coaching staff, we built them for the next 60 years of their life, and what we ended up with was a state championship,” Rodemaker told lawmakers. Rodemaker rattled off the program’s long list of accomplishments through the decades, which now include 24 state titles, six national championships and 42 regional trophies. “I couldn’t be prouder of a group of young men,” he said. The Wildcats snagged the 6A title in what was Rodemaker’s first season with the team.