Former GCSA Member Serves His Country

Edwin Newman, a former 2009 GCSA Chapter President and graduate of Sequoyah High School in Canton, Georgia, is currently at basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. In the enclosed letter, Eddie explains how GCSA/Project Success and his SHS teachers helped him to achieve his goals of being in the military:

Dear SHS,
Hey there everyone.  My name is Eddie Newman.  I am a graduate from Sequoyah High School.  I joined the Army in February 2009 and I am currently at basic training.  I want to thank everyone for their support and motivational speeches because if it wasn’t for teachers, the Army wouldn’t be.  Keep up the good work!

Thank you for everything,
PFC Edwin Stuart Newman IV
U.S. Army Reserve

Eddie, your SHS GCSA family says a big THANK YOU for your service and dedication to our country!

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Dodge County High School Captures Chapter of the Year Title at State Conference

The Dodge County High School GCSA Chapter was proudly honored to be named the Chapter of the Year at the 2008-2009 GCSA State Conference. To earn this title, a chapter has to document its yearly activities into a notebook or a scrapbook beginning with state conference of the previous school year and ending it with region competition. A chapter has to plan very carefully and consistently to include all the activities that are listed in the chapter of the year competitive event guidelines. A few of these activities include documenting four professional meetings, attending officers training conference, conducting an officers installation ceremony, participating in a recreational activity, publicizing the chapter’s activities, running a state officer, providing two career activities for chapter members, and showcasing an important activity that the chapter participates in for the year. A chapter can earn up to 200 points in this event. Dodge County High School earned a perfect score of 200 points. Congratulations, Dodge County High School on a job well done!

GCSA Celebrates the 39th Annual Leadership Conference

The Georgia Career Student Association held their 39th Annual Leadership Conference on April 2 – 4 on Jekyll Island, Georgia. The conference attendees were wowed by their state officers who lead “Team GCSA” to another victory!

GCSA was fortunate to have Dr. Shelly Stewart of The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation with us on Thursday evening to address the crowd. Dr. Stewart spoke about how he has overcome great obstacles in his life through the power of education. He was told early in life by a teacher, “Learn to read, get an education and you can be anything you want to be.” *Dr. Stewart’s rise to prominence began as a radio personality in the 1950s and ‘60s. His expansion into marketing also began in the 1960s, culminating in his position as the President and CEO of o2ideas, one of the country’s longest-running and largest privately held corporate communication companies. Dr. Stewart inspired the crowd, students and adults, to be the BEST you can be and LEARN TO READ. He was a powerful, inspiring and entertaining speaker.

On Friday the students had the opportunity to see The Choice Bus. *The Choice Bus is a tool created by The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation for the purpose of extending the learning experience of the InsideOut documentary outside the classroom and keeping students on the road to a good education. This experience-based learning tool contains a “real” jail cell connected to an interactive learning environment.

Although the evening ended with a weather front that brought torrential rainfall to the Island, the conference attendees departed knowing that a bright future was possible for each of them.

* The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation. Site Built by 02Ideas. Site Accessed on April 6, 2009 (http://www.mattiestewart.org/foundation.html>

The GCSA State Officers, State Officer Advisors and Members participated in the Annual CTSO

Legislative Breakfast held at the Georgia Freight Depot on February 12th. The breakfast was attended by state legislators, DOE dignitaries and all nine CTSO chapters from across the state. Casey Cagle, Lt. Governor, Glenn Richardson, Speaker of the House and Kathy Cox, State School Superintendent all addressed the audience on the importance of education and workforce ready skills for students.

Wes Seabolt, State President, was on the program and introduced GACTE President, Tim Cockrell. Porshea Cooper, State Secretary, served as a legislator greeter and Terry Cobb, State Parliamentarian and Takevian Boone, Region 5 President, acted as table seaters for the legislators. All officers had the opportunity to have breakfast with their legislator and discuss CTAE issues.

The breakfast was followed by a tour of the Capitol and a group picture on the steps.