>> BALDWIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners heard updates at their regular meeting Oct. 17 from Georgia Military College (GMC) and County Manager Carlos Tobar.
GMC president Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell IV opened the presentation by going over GMC’s mission statement and introducing the three components of the school: GMC Preparatory School (GMC Prep), GMC Junior College, and GMC Leadership College. According to Caldwell, the junior college is the “bread and butter” of the components making up GMC.
Principal of GMC Preparatory School Colonel Amy Lee stated that this year there are about 850 students in the K-12 program. The school, this year, serves eight counties. For 14 years, GMC Prep has continued to have a 100% graduation rate and about 97% of students are pursuing higher education after graduation. Lee states that the 3% that do not pursue higher education typically join the armed forces. Alongside this, many of the school’s extracurriculars have also been recognized through championships and titles and the school continues to enroll a large number of dual-enrolled students and increase Advanced Placement opportunities for chances to receive college credits.
GMC Main Campus Executive Director Colonel Nelson Kraft spoke about the junior college. According to him, the school has one main campus but eight satellites across the state. Four of these satellites are connected to military installations and two serve rural areas. Although, only the main campus offers the Corps of Cadet experience.
“Georgia Military College has an economic impact through our junior college satellites,” said Caldwell. “They are co-located throughout the state to offer a college experience to a wider population.”
According to Kraft, “all of our programs this year are doing better than they ever have” and this year 78 cadets are being sent to service academies, which is the biggest number the Academy Prep Program has sent. Kraft also stated that there are seven cadets from Thailand and that the college’s students recognize all 159 counties within the state.
“We’re a minority servant institution and a predominantly black institution. We are proud of that,” said Kraft reviewing the demographics. “About 61% of students go on to complete a four-year degree program at a University System of Georgia school.”
Executive Director of the Global Online Leadership College Jody Yearwood stated that this fall the online program currently has 7,500 enrollments and employs 400 faculty members from across the nation. It is the fastest growing segment of Georgia Military College.
“Leadership and ethics is the cornerstone of our program,” said Yearwood. “It is embedded into every single course and program. So we are not only developing them academically but we are giving them leadership.”
Their four year degree programs are specific to the military, however, the college does offer more than military-oriented courses. All programs and courses are entirely online and done remotely from the student’s area. New this year, the college is starting its leadership institute that offers non-accredited programs for executive leadership courses, boot-camps, module training and more.
Concluding the presentations, the board and the community were invited to email Caldwell if they had any questions.
Moving into county updates, Chairwoman Emily Davis asked Tobar about receiving letters related to water issues. According to Tobar, he has raised the concerns to Commissioner Sammy Hall, who is on the board of the Sinclair Water Authority, and asked Hall to relay their request to return to the chemical formula that was “working for them.” According to Hall, the letters outlined that the current chemical mixture is not a danger.
“You would have to drink that water for 20 years or so for it to make a difference and it was only used for a short time,” said Hall. “However, we are working with Sinclair Water Authority to have those chemicals adjusted.”
Also related to water updates, Tobar stated that the Aquatic Center site plan was finalized and they are hoping to bid out in December.
Concluding his updates, he stated three more homes under the Community HOME Investment Program received weatherization grants and two homes received upgraded electrical work thanks to the volunteering of local businesses. In addition North Ridge Christian Church is going to repair a deck on one home.
“Cobbling all of that together we are going to be able to help all six families,” said Tobar.
The next board meeting is Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.