By Angie Thompson , Tifton Gazette

The vice president of satellite operations for Moultrie Technical College announced Wednesday that he will seek the post of chairman of the Tift County Board of Education. Dr. Shawn Utley joins former BOE Chairman Richard Golden so far in the at-large race that all Tift County voters will decide in the fall.

Utley said his election would mean a continuation of his involvement with the school system. He and his wife, Melisa, have two children who attend Tift County public schools.

“I see it (his election) as another opportunity to serve my community,” Utley said. “We are very fortunate to live in a community with so many educational opportunities and such great people to lead them.”

Utley graduated from Tift County High School in 1985 and went on to graduate from Valdosta State University in 1989. He began his professional career as a teacher and coach at Coffee County High School and in 1997, became an assistant principal at Turner County Middle School. In 1999, Utley was named principal of Turner County Elementary School and served in that capacity until June 2004, when he returned to Tifton as the vice president of operations for MTC.

Utley said “sometimes change can be a good thing,” but that he believes that many of the right people and “processes” with the BOE are already in place.

“If you have the right people and processes in place, which I believe we do, support for what you have can be even more powerful than change,” Utley said. “I hope that through being elected to serve the county as a member of the Tift County Board of Education, I can use my education and experience to lend support to the great people who work here and the great things they are doing to educate the children of Tift County.”

Local businessman Tommy Cottle is serving as the chairman of Utley’s campaign committee and Dr. Frank McGill as the committee’s treasurer.

Utley has been a member of First United Methodist Church of Tifton for 37 years. He has served on the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce board of directors since 2004 and as the chairman of the chamber’s economic development committee in 2006-2007. He also serves as chairman of the chamber’s business and finance committee. He is a member of the Tiftarea YMCA’s board of directors; is a Kiwanis Club member and former board of directors member; a member of Spring Hill Country Club; a member of the RESA board of controls; a member of the Tift Area Select Baseball Association board of directors; a member of the Tift County Booster Club and former member of the organization’s board of directors; a member of the Touchdown Club; and a member of the Tift County Recreation Department’s advisory board.

Utley has also coached baseball, football, basketball and softball for the Tift County Recreation Department. He is a graduate of the Technical College System of Georgia’s Executive Leadership Academy; Leadership Tifton; and Leadership Georgia. His honors include being the 2007 recipient of the J. Lamar Branch Award and being recognized as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s “40 Under 40” for 2006.

Utley received his educational doctorate in educational leadership (2005); his educational specialist, educational leadership (1999); his master of education, educational leadership (1994); and his bachelor of science in education, health/physical education, all from Valdosta State University.

Utley said he believed the community is blessed by many educational opportunities and he would like to contribute more as the chairman of Tift County’s public school system.

“I believe we have the best public school system in the state, led by superintendent Patrick Atwater, and Tift County has to be considered the Mecca of educational opportunities in the state of Georgia,” Utley said. “I hope that through being elected to serve the county as a member of the Tift County Board of Education I can use my education and experience to lend support to the great people who work here and the great things they are doing to educate the children in Tift County.”

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321, ext. 209.