Moultrie Tech Vice President Named
Top 40 Under 40 in Georgia
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MOULTRIE , GA. Georgia Trend Magazine, a publication focused on business and politics in Georgia since 1985, has named Dr. Shawn Utley to the “Top 40 Under 40” list in its October 2006 issue. Utley, 39, is the vice-president of Satellite Operations at Moultrie Technical College, which serves over 2000 students on five campuses – two in Moultrie and one each in Tifton, Ashburn and Sylvester.
Georgia Trend calls the 40 chosen for its tenth list since 1996 “the best and brightest young people” in the state. They make up a listing of the state's rising superstars -- including a mix of entrepreneurs, traditional businesspeople, civic leaders, public servants, academics and nonprofit workers from every corner of the state.
According to the magazine, this year’s edition marks the highest level of participation to date with close to 300 nominations from readers for some 200 candidates. Georgia Trend's editors made the final selection of the 40 awarded the designation.
Utley, a Tifton native, holds four degrees from Valdosta State University, including his doctorate in Educational Leadership. Before taking his current position with Moultrie Tech, he was the principal of Turner County Elementary School in Ashburn.
He now oversees the college’s satellite campuses in Tifton, Ashburn and Sylvester and hires the staff, manages the instruction and acts as the liaison between Moultrie Tech and high school principals.
Utley leads the charge to develop opportunities for high school students in Tift, Turner and Worth counties through the college’s dual-enrollment program in which students simultaneously receive high school and technical college credit.
He says, "We can increase the graduation rates at high schools by addressing the needs of non-traditional students. The student is looking for more than what the high school has to offer. Just 20 to 30 percent of the students in our service area go on to four-year schools."
Utley says, “Both of my parents were educators. My mother was a school teacher and my father was the assistant dean for the University of Georgia’s Tifton Campus. They instilled in me at a very early age the importance of education. I am proud to have received this honor from Georgia Trend Magazine, but most of all, I am proud to represent Moultrie Technical College. I believe this award is more about what MTC has done for me than what I have personally accomplished.”
“Right now Moultrie Tech is at an all-time high in enrollment. I believe that is a reflection of the leadership of the school. Dr. Anderson [MTC president] is one of the most insightful people I have ever been around. Through her leadership, many employees of the college have received accolades such as the one I received from Georgia Trend. She truly does not care who gets the credit. She only cares that each student receives an excellent education and that all of MTC’s employees represent the college to the best of their ability.”
Utley spends much of his time giving back to the community of Tifton. He serves on the boards of directors of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce, the Tifton YMCA, the Kiwanis Club, the Tift County Touchdown Club, and the Tift Area Select Baseball Association, as well as the RESA Board of Controls and the Tift County Recreation Department Advisory Board.
Over the past three years, he has coached recreation baseball, football, basketball and softball teams. Utley and his wife Melisa, a guidance counselor at Annie Bell Clark Primary School, are members of the First United Methodist Church of Tifton and have two children, Nick, 12, and Katelyn, 10.
Portions of this article are excerpt from the online edition of Georgia Trend Magazine.
