Dr. Ron Newcomb Keynote Speaker at Chamber Awards Luncheon

Dr. Ron Newcomb, president Chattahoochee Technical College (CTC) addressed Paulding business leaders last week at the Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, which was followed by the presentation of this year’s Industry Appreciation Awards.
Honorees for 2017 were the W. W. Henry Co., Manufacturer of the Year, BLD Waste Services was Industry of the Year, both headquartered in Dallas, and Brown and Caldwell received the Community Development Award. Brown and Caldwell is the firm managing Paulding’s Richland Creek Reservoir project.
Dr. Newcomb and CTC's Executive Director of Admissions and Records Missy Cusack provided an update on the school’s growth and impact in the last year on both the county and the region. According to Dr. Newcomb CTC students are divided between about a third in health-related fields, another third in core programs and a third in business and tech programs including media production and interior design.
Paulding’s 29-acre campus is home to 778 students, 44 percent of them travel to the campus from another county, the average age is about 25 and 1,000 from Paulding attend the college. Last year the school awarded over 300 Paulding students a degree, a diploma, or a certificate, Ms. Cusack said.
The college’s Registered Nursing program was moved from the Austell campus to Paulding and 54 students are currently in the program and 22 percent already have a Bachelor’s degree. Recent pass rate for the fall class in this highly competitive program was 92 percent, Cusack said.
The CTC Welding program, up and running for about two years now, immediately filled in the first semester it was offered. CTC is the largest technical college in the state with eight campus locations serving the counties of Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Gilmer, Paulding, and Pickens. CTC awards more than 70 certificates, diplomas and associate degrees in 45 programs of study through traditional classroom courses as well as online training. Economic impact on the six-county region has been estimated at $100 million. The college also provides the community with other learning opportunities, including customized workforce training, adult literacy and continuing education programs.

Paulding Chamber Honorees for 2017 were: W. W. Henry Company, Manufacturer of the Year, (Left to Right): Paulding Chamber President Stacy Hamby, Michael Deppa, W.W. Henry plant engineer and CTC President Dr. Newcomb last week in Dallas. (Photo: R. Grant)

(Left to Right): Paulding Chamber President Stacy Hamby, Tim Shipp, BLD Waste Services, Industry of the Year, and Dr. Newcomb. (Photo: R. Grant)

(Left to Right): Paulding Chamber President Stacy Hamby, Brown and Caldwell’s Mark Lethbridge, project consultant, Community Development Award and Dr. Newcomb. Brown and Caldwell is the firm managing Paulding’s Richland Creek Reservoir project. (Photo: R. Grant)