VALDOSTA – Pam Childress, the head coach of Valdosta High School’s Speech and Debate Cats, has earned her second Diamond Award.

The National Speech and Debate Association recognizes both students’ and coaches’ achievements in speech and debate. The association has given awards since 1925.

“Our Diamond Award winners provide access to the life changing benefits of speech and debate for thousands of students,” J. Scott Wunn, the National Speech & Debate executive director, said in a release. “We are proud to recognize these educators for their service, and thank them for their hard work.”

Coaches who have been an association member for at least five years can earn points in the national honorary through team participation, student achievement, public service, and leadership work. They earn additional awards with more points earned in the Honor Society.

Childress received her first award in the summer of 2018 after attaining 15,000 points. She has reached 30,000 points earning her second Diamond award in her 11th year of coaching the VHS speech and debate team.

She has taught English Language Arts at Valdosta High School for 18 years. Her inspiration for leading the team spans to when she was a student in her home state of New Mexico.

“It’s the respect of the community and pride in my students. I’ve had 253 students come through the program in these 11 years. It feels good to think about these kids. Some of them were shy but they all got something out of it,” Childress said in an interview Wednesday.

Childress and the team’s current 25 members are working to increase the participation after COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline in the number of team members. In 2020, the team graduated 16 seniors with about 70 active members.

Her fondest memory in coaching is the first time having three students “break” or advance from the preliminary rounds to the next level of competition at the 2019 National competition.

Four of the team’s members shared their thoughts on Childress’s accomplishment.

Marzell Usher, the 11th-grade team captain, said, “For the three years I’ve been a part of the team, she’s worked really hard to help not just me but everyone on the team.”

Ray Moody, an 11th-grade novice Lincoln-Douglas debater, agreed. He said, “She’s been really helpful and accommodating.”

Areyal Hall and Rumi Garbett-Chaitram, two 9th-grade first-year debaters, enjoy the guidance and academic experiences Childress has provided through the team.

“[Mrs. Childress] cares about her students heavily. She thinks about the future for her students [and] about how her students are going into college,” Garbett-Chaitram said. “I have a really good coach.”

“It’s definitely due. She’s put so much into this team and into us. We still have three more years but we’re still college ready. With the Speech and Debate award that she’s getting, I think it’s amazing and it showcases her hard work and dedication,” Hall explained.