Dr. Lusharon Wiley

Valdosta native named culture director

VALDOSTA – Valdosta native Dr. Lusharon Wiley was recently named director of culture at Innisfree Hotels, a Florida-based hotel management, marketing and development company.

Wiley has more than two decades of experience as a successful manager and leader in higher education, according to a statement. Her job entails managing the company’s culture practices and providing expertise and support in the areas of employee relations, employee engagement & retention, diversity & inclusion, performance management and HR compliance.

Uddyback named to SGMC employee health position

VALDOSTA – South Georgia Medical Center announced the promotion of Sylvia Uddyback to director of employee health services. 

Uddyback has been with SGMC for 39 years, hospital officials said in a statement.

In the new position, she will oversee many programs that promote health and wellness for SGMC employees and providers across the health system.

“I am excited and passionate about continuing to mentor and encourage the next generation of health care workers to excel in their chosen areas and find joy in serving our community,” Uddyback said. “Our team will continue to look for strategies to improve wellness and positive lifestyle changes at our facilities.”

Uddyback graduated from Valdosta Technical College in 1981 as a certified nursing assistant and in 1987 as a licensed practical nurse. She went to further her education with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and gradated with an associate’s in nursing in 2004. In 2019, Uddyback graduated with a bachelor’s in nursing from Thomas University in Thomasville.

Uddyback is married to Richard and together they have two adult children. Uddyback is a Christian faith-based educator at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of Dr. Norman J. Edwards. She is also a member of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare and is a certified HIV counselor.

Mercer named city employee of the month

VALDOSTA – Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Fire Chief Brian Boutwell honored Valdosta Fire Department Lt. Robert Mercer as the April Employee of the Month during the Valdosta City Council meeting. 

Mercer received a framed certificate, a check for $200 and his name appears on a plaque in City Hall, city officials said in a statement.

Mercer was nominated for the Employee of the Month Award for actions going above and beyond his normal duties, city officials said. 

“Utilizing contacts made through outside training opportunities, Lt. Mercer was able to acquire specialized hazardous materials equipment at no cost to the city,” city officials said. “These units will identify toxic industrial chemicals, narcotics, explosives, precursors and more.”

The donation to the Valdosta Fire Department represents an approximate value of $207,000. Items were donated after Mercer became aware of the pending cycling out of equipment from naval surface warfare. The equipment was received three weeks after his first inquiry. 

“These tools will greatly increase the ability of the Valdosta Fire Department to identify unknown products and initiate mitigation procedures correctly and promptly,” city officials said. “They are also designed to be easily used while in protective clothing.”

Mercer’s effort to go above and beyond has raised the Valdosta Fire Department’s capabilities and will provide for safer hazardous material operations in the future, they said.

“The City of Valdosta applauds Lieutenant Mercer for his dedication, exemplary work ethic and for being named the April 2021 Employee of the Month.”

Sands-Anderson named Wiregrass Instructor of the Year

VALDOSTA — Cherlyn Sands-Anderson, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College adult education instructor, received the 2021 Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction, also known as Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year award.

The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction is awarded annually, college officials said in a statement. The award is designed to recognize and honor instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields. 

Instructors are nominated for the Rick Perkins Award by their peers. Competition among instructors occurs at the college, regional and state levels.

Four finalists participated in the interviews: Sands-Anderson (adult education instructor – Valdosta campus), Dimple Sali Carter (patient care assisting and allied health core instructor, Valdosta campus), John Patten (media production coordinator, Valdosta campus) and Adrienne Young (director of practical nursing, Ben Hill-Irwin campus).

She was nominated by her peers throughout the college and described as “always a top-ranking instructor who is willing to help her colleagues and goes above and beyond to help her students. She has a positive attitude and is also an inspiration to others. She has helped many students in her years with the organization and deserves to be acknowledged for all of her hard work and dedication.”

“I am beyond grateful for this honor to be recognized for my work ethic, my passion for education and the students I serve, my organization, Wiregrass Tech, whom I have truly loved all the 31 years I have been employed here,” Sands-Anderson said.

Sands-Anderson started teaching at Wiregrass after being a stay-at-home-mother. She discovered the opportunity through a friend that let her know the technical college was looking for a part-time GED teacher, college officials said. 

She applied and was hired to help remediate women at the battered women’s shelter to prepare them for the GED test. She shared that her first class consisted of five determined women who were on a mission to gain their independence. 

“I grew to love the position because of the rewarding experience of helping people change their lives,” Sands-Anderson said. “Accepting the position turned out to be one of the best career moves I ever made as I remain in the same department 31 years later.”

She also shared that her teaching goals in the classroom coincide with two of her favorite Chinese proverbs: “A person’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark” as well as “If you’re planning for a year, sow rice, if you’re planning for a decade, plant a tree; if you’re planning for a lifetime, educate people.” 

“These proverbs describe a system that encourages people and opens their minds to possibilities,” college officials said. “They enable people to lift themselves out of poverty and take on skills that they can use to create opportunity for themselves.” 

Sands-Anderson said, “As an instructor, I’ve had the opportunity of teaching adult education, the foundation in a student’s life, the second chance, instilling in them that their past is not their future, and able to empower them by ministering to them the power of education and how education can change their life.”

Here are other instructors nominated who participated in the selection process for the instructor award (in alphabetical order): Fiifi Agyabeng-Dadzie (biology instructor, Valdosta campus), Ashley Boyd (history / adult education instructor, various campuses), Angela Brantley (business education instructor, Valdosta campus), Sherry Carroll (psychology instructor, Coffee campus), India Denning (patient care assisting and allied health core instructor, Coffee campus), Deanna Edwards (management supervisory development program coordinator, Ben Hill-Irwin campus), Lisa Griffin (opticianry program coordinator, Valdosta campus), Garrett Hall (history instructor, Valdosta campus), Toby Heard (automotive repair technology instructor, Valdosta campus), Ginny Howell (accounting program coordinator, Valdosta campus), Terry Johnson (welding instructor, Ben Hill-Irwin campus), Darron Lanier (machine tool technology program coordinator, Valdosta campus), Wayne Lee (barbering program coordinator, Valdosta campus), Donna Norman (mathematics instructor, Ben Hill-Irwin campus), Jennifer Ray (radiologic technology program coordinator, Valdosta campus), Wally Rewis (welding instructor, Valdosta campus), Jason Richardson (speech instructor, Valdosta campus), Dr. Darlene Ridley (director of associate of science in nursing, Valdosta campus), Greta Smith (criminal justice technology program coordinator, Coffee campus), Krista Spires (underage youth instructor, Ben Hill-Irwin campus), Drew Vickers (electrical/industrial system technology program coordinator, Valdosta campus), Jack Wiesner (economics instructor, Valdosta campus) and Tabitha Wilcox (cosmetology program coordinator, Valdosta campus).

Sands-Anderson will represent Wiregrass at the regional interview competition in April at the Tifton campus of Southern Regional Technical College. Three instructors from each of the three regions will make up the nine regional finalists who will be named in May via Technical College System of Georgia’s Facebook Live. The nine regional finalists will then move to the state level and compete for the title of State Rick Perkins Winner, TCSG’s Instructor of the Year.