SCHS Air Force Junior ROTC Earns Highest Rating

The Air Force Junior ROTC program at Sandy Creek High continues its tradition of excellence.

Every three years units are rated to ensure that they are compliant with Air Force standards and policy. The Sandy Creek unit earned the highest rating possible, “Exceeds Standards,” which places it in the top 20 percent of all 824 Air Force Junior ROTC units worldwide.

Rating officials cited instructors Colonel Douglas Pearson and Chief Master Sergeant Mark Davidson as having created a dynamic and supportive learning environment coupled with excellent community outreach.

The cadets were also lauded for performing exceptionally well and taking great pride in leading and accomplishing their unit goals, as well as making a positive impact on the school and community through their citizenship program.

In addition to the exceptional rating, the unit has also received the annual Distinguished Unit Award or Outstanding Organizational Award seven of the nine years that the program has been in place at Sandy Creek.

-----

Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG @FayetteFP

Another Award-Winning Year for Sandy Creek’s ROTC

Cadets show off their awards from Summer Leadership School. From top left: Cadet Major John Downing (Cadre Leadership Award), Cadet 1st Lieutenant Nereida Duran (Outstanding Flight Cadre), Cadet 1st Lieutenant Aleeia Marcelo (Outstanding Flight Cadre), Cadet Major Dustin Gonzalez (Cadre Leadership Award), Cadet Senior Airman Trevor Mercer (Honor Graduate), and Cadet Senior Airman Jacob Renie (Honor Graduate). From bottom left: Cadet Major Megan Shuford (Outstanding Flight Cadre), Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Kaycee Hall (Cadre Leadership Award), and Cadet 1st Lieutenant Katie McKennon (Outstanding Flight Cadre). All cadre award winners also received a national award, eagle trophy, the outstanding cadet ribbon and co-curricular activities ribbon.

The Air Force Junior ROTC program at Sandy Creek High is celebrating the start of a new school year with the addition of several prestigious awards earned by cadets this summer.

Top honors for outstanding efforts in leadership and academics were received by nine of the 23 cadets attending the Summer Leadership School at Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. Sandy Creek walked away with the most awards earned by the 27 schools and 297 cadets attending. The school provides realistic training for leadership, fitness, group interaction, and team building.

The unit also earned the 2009-10 Air Force Junior ROTC Outstanding Organization Award. The award is earned based on cadet developed goals for the school year and through completion of those goals. It recognizes units that have performed above normal expectations and have distinguished themselves through outstanding service to their school and community while meeting the Air Force Junior ROTC mission of producing better citizens for America. The unit was one of 207 in the nation to receive the award.

The objectives of the Junior ROTC program are to educate and train high school cadets in citizenship and life skills; promote community service; instill responsibility, character, and self-discipline through character education; and to provide instruction in air and space fundamentals. Enrollment is open to all students who are in the ninth grade and higher, physically fit, and are citizens or nationals of the United States.

Air Force Junior ROTC is in 884 high schools across the United States and at selected schools in Europe, the Pacific and Puerto Rico. Junior ROTC enrollment includes more than 110,000 cadets.
For more information about the Air Force Junior ROTC program at Sandy Creek, contact Colonel Pearson or Chief Davidson at 770-969-2840, ext. 278.

-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Sandy Creek Air Force Junior ROTC Cadets Recognized for Top Performance

Top Air Force Junior ROTC students stand proud after being notified of their honors. (L-R) Kelly Henderman, Thomas Treat, Julian Holmes and Travis Mowrey.

The Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) program at Sandy Creek High School in Fayette County has become known for producing some of the country’s top cadets and this year is no exception.

Junior Thomas Treat, a third year cadet, has been competitively selected for the AFJROTC Aerospace and Technology Honors Camp. Cadets attending this program represent the top one percent of over 100,000 cadets who are in AFJROTC throughout the country and overseas. He will attend the leadership camp June 20-25 at the University of Oklahoma. Treat has also been selected to attend the Air Force Academy and the US Military Academy Summer Seminars.

Additionally, he was named the Sons of the American Revolution Outstanding Cadet for 2008-09 for the local Marquis de Lafayette Chapter. Treat went on to compete at the state level where he won Georgia’s Outstanding Junior ROTC Cadet for 2008-09. He received these honors for having a high degree of merit with respect to leadership qualities, military bearing and general excellence. Treat will now represent Georgia at the national competition in Atlanta July 1-8 during the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution 2009 National Congress.

Three graduating senior cadets have received full four-year military scholarships. Travis Mowrey received a Type II Air Force ROTC scholarship, a highly competitive scholarship that is awarded to 15 percent of eligible students. He plans to major in international business at Auburn University. Mowrey is a fourth-year cadet.

Kelly Henderman and Julian Holmes are the recipients of an Army ROTC scholarship. Henderman plans to major in nursing at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee and Holmes plans to major in political science at Georgia Southern University. Both have been active in the AFJROTC program for two years.

“It is great to see these students rewarded with this kind of recognition. These cadets worked hard and did so much while in high school and deserve these honors,” says Colonel Doug Pearson, senior aerospace science instructor at Sandy Creek. “Often the rewards for hard work in high school are not immediate and come after several years of accumulating such outstanding records. What they have accomplished is a tribute to their hard work ethic and personal discipline.”

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Sandy Creek AFJROTC Cans Hunger in Fayette

Sandy Creek High Cadets (L-R) Dustin Gonzalez, Phillip Hays and Erica Gonzalez sort cans and prepare boxes for delivery. Cadets involved in the 2008 food drive made school announcements, distributed posters and collected donations for delivery to the Real Life Center. Other cadets involved but not in the picture include Liberia Flahn (project coordinator), Benjamin Pickard, Sarah Olson, Julia Anderson, Branden Bagley, Michael McColister, Chisom Onwumere, Codi Humphries, Linda Lehmann and Jerrrod Thomas.

Helping to can hunger in Fayette is the goal of the annual food drive sponsored by the Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) program at Sandy Creek High.

This year the cadets collected 4,000 food items from students at the school. The donations were delivered to the Real Life Center in Tyrone, an organization that helps families in the county who are going though a life transition and need temporary support such as counseling, clothing or food.

The AFJROTC has sponsored the food drive since 2002 and has donated over 45,000 food items to local organizations and food pantries. The cadets volunteer their time to organize the school-wide project that involves the entire student body.

Community service is an important part of the AFJROTC program. The cadets have provided over 1,100 hours of community service so far this year including supporting the Veterans Day parade in Atlanta, providing three color guard performances for Veterans Day, visiting veterans at two assisted living facilities and providing support for Fayette County’s Special Olympics and Honor Flight Fayette.

“I am very proud of the efforts from all of these outstanding young cadets. I often receive praise for their support to the community and they represent our program and the school in such a positive way,” says Colonel Douglas Pearson, AFJROTC senior aerospace science instructor.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia