July Part 2 - Grenada School District

Communicator, July 18, 2016, Page 5
GCTC Students Earn Awards
5/11
National Technical Honor Society -Anderson Roberts, Katelyn Ross, Emily
Holley, Somara Mitchell, and Daniel Signore
Students of the Year (front l to r) Frederick Tidwell, Mykala Woodall, Alexis
Brown, Chris Boyles. (back l to r) Blake Matthews, Hayden Breeland, Emily
Smith, and Jacob Carson
Highest CPAS Scores (front l to r) Mackenna Sing, Breanna Nobles, Melissa West, Haley Lindley, Kalee Beck, Alexis Brown (back l to r) Elaxander
Bolden-Lott, David Logan, Hayden Breeland, Blake Matthews, Jacob Carson,
Mike Kendall, Joseph Dunn, and Austin Beach
By Kaye Dorroh
GCTC Student Services Coordinator
On May 2, 2015, Grenada Career &
Technical Center hosted a breakfast honoring nontraditional students, students of
the year, and National Technical Honor
Society students. Mary Mixon won the
$250 nontraditional scholarship for our
center by applying and writing the winning essay.
Dr. Cliff Craven, Director and the
Career and Technical Program teachers
take pleasure in recognizing the following students of the year: Hayden Breland
– Automotive Technology; Mykala
Woodall – Career Pathway Experience;
Blake Matthews – Construction; Emily
Smith – Health Science; Fredrick Tidwell
– Teacher Academy; Chris Boyles –
Information Technology; Alexis Brown –
Business & Marketing; and Jacob Carson
– Welding.
The GCTC staff and teachers are proud
of the following students for scoring
the highest on their MS-CPAS (Mississippi Career Planning and Assessment
System): Hayden Breland – Automotive
Service Technician II; Elaxander BoldenLott – Automotive Service Technician I;
David Logan – Automotive Service Technician I; Blake Matthews – Carpentry;
Mike Kendall – Construction I; Breanna
Nobles – Healthcare & Clinical Services
II; Melissa West – Healthcare & Clinical
Services I; Joseph Dunn – Information
Technology I; Mackenna Sing – Teacher
Academy II; Haley Lindley – Teacher
Academy I; Alexis Brown – Marketing;
Kalee Beck – Business Fundamentals;
Jacob Carson – Advanced Welding; and
Nontraditional Scholarship Winner Mary Mixon
Austin Beach – Introduction to Welding.
Counselor Mr. Mark Davis presented
the award certificates and graduation
cords to the following National Technical
Honor Society students: Emily Holley, Aaron Hollis, James Hood, Megan
Massey, Somara Mitchell, Anderson
Roberts, Katelyn Ross, Daniel Signore,
Blake Tilghman, and Lakisha Townes.
We are grateful for all the hard work
and dedication these young men and
women put forth in their studies to gain
these awards!
Dress Code Continued on Page 10
Communicator, July 18, 2016, Page 6
NNDCC Members Attend
Leadership Camp
Lakesha Harbin, Desree Lott, Marissa Wallace, CaTarrus Black, Chief Foreman, Chance Wortham, Liam Thayer, Stephen George, Johnathan Forrest,
and Eleasa Ramsey
By Chief Foreman
NNDCC Instructor
Grenada High School Navy National
Defense Cadet Corp (NNDCC) has
begun the 2016-2017 school year with a
winning start. Nine cadets from Grenada
Bravo Company went to Basic Leadership Training and Leadership Academy,
in Little Rock, Arkansas, from 13-17
June.
Bravo Company Cadet Commanding
Officer CaTarrus Black, a senior, earned
the Cadet Achievement award ribbon;
it can only be earned at camp and given
by the area manager. Cadet Black also
earned a new leadership aiguillette (rope)
for being a Graduation Assistant (GA).
Cadet Black’s platoon won honor platoon
for the third year in a row, which is the
best in camp. Cadet Black is the first cadet in a very long time to complete three
years of summer camp. Bravo Company Color Guard Commander, Cadet Lakesha Harbin, a junior,
earned a certificate plus a leadership
aiguillette for completing Leadership
Academy. Cadet Harbin earned several
medals; for the second year in a row she
won a 1st place medal for the most pushups and sit-ups for females, Honor Cadet,
and 1st in personal inspection. Harbin
also won 2nd place for the 1 mile run.
Cadet Chance Wortham, 1st platoon
leader for Bravo Company, a junior,
earned a certificate plus a leadership aiguillette for completing Leadership Academy. Cadet Wortham also won several
medals, 1st place medal for push-ups for
males that he also won 2nd place for last
year, and 2nd place in the mile run. Cadet
Wortham was 4th in sit-ups and was also
chosen as an Honor Cadet.
For the first time in years, six first time
attendees were chosen to attend Basic
Leadership Camp and be Bravo Company
future leaders. These six cadets were
chosen for many reasons for BLT, but a
few of the reasons included their uniform
appearance, ability to follow orders,
and motivation. All six Bravo Company
cadets earned a boot camp ribbon and
certificate for completing BLT.
Some of Bravo first year students
proved they are ready for the next year
by also winning several medals. Cadet
Eleasa (Esa) Ramsey won Honor Cadet,
plus 2nd in push-ups for males, 2nd in
sit-ups for males, and 5th in the mile run.
Cadet Johnathan Forrest won 3rd in pushups and 4th in sit-ups for males. Cadet
Stephen George won 1st place for pushups. Cadet Marissa Wallace won 2nd
place in push-ups and sit-ups for females
and 4th place in the mile run. Cadets
Liam Thayer and Cadet Desree Lott also
received certificates.
There were a total of 132 Cadets
present, 66 males and 66 females from
11 different high schools in Mississippi,
Arkansas, and Louisiana. The cadets had
training in land navigation, classroom,
Army rifle simulators, a confidence
and team building exercise, and running. Each cadet had to complete all
these events in order to pass and earn
their respective awards. If you see these
cadets, please congratulate them on their
achievements.
During the upcoming school year,
we have new $10 discount cards that
can be purchased from the cadets, the
school, or from R&S Cleaners. The card
can be used at various places in town to
receive discounts. Log - in coupons will
award three winners for coupons around
America. Bravo Company is always looking for
and in need of sponsors. For the second
year in a row we will be hosting a Drill
Meet on 29 October, 2016, and we will
be hosting a Physical Training Meet on
24 September, 2016. Attend and show
your support for Bravo Company! If you
have any questions about NNDCC contact Chief Foreman at 662-226-8596.
Hand Hygiene Program at GES
GES students had a
visit from Biscuit the
Paw Washing Dog (center) and Holly Garcia
(right) from Symmetry
Hand Hygiene Company. Symmetry interacted
with GES students on
the importance of hand
hygiene to prevent
illness. Biscuit taught
the students to sing
“Happy Birthday” while
washing their hands
to ensure hands were
washed for the appropriate time. Student Mckensie Austin (far left) was recognized because it was her birthday on the day of the program.
You Can Announce
Birthdays and Anniversaries
on the GSD Digital Sign
for only $25 per day!
Call GSD Communications
662-226-1575
Must be reserved 4 days in advance.
2016 Meet the Teacher
Grenada
Elementary
Kindergarten & 2nd Grade
10 a.m. - 12 noon
1st Grade & 3rd Grade
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Wednesday August 3, 2016
Grenada Upper
Elementary
4th Grade & 5th Grade
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Grenada
Middle
Grenada
High
6th Grade
10 a.m. - 12 noon
Juniors & Seniors
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
7th Grade & 8th Grade
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Freshmen & Sophomores
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Communicator, July 18, 2016, Page 7
GHS Band Awards
Nick Conley (left) was awarded the Semper Fidelis
Award by Director of Bands Joe Presley (right).
Outstanding Band Member Award - Dylan Teas
Sp Cal
on en
so dar
re
dB
y
Jadarius Avery (right) was awarded the John
Phillips Sousa Award by Director of Bands Joe
Presley (left).
The Best Meats In Town!
August
Communicator, July 18, 2016, Page 8
GSD Alumni Spotlight
In this edition of The Communicator we’re excited
to debut the first installment of a regular feature. Each
month we’ll profile a GSD alum who has exemplified the
District’s commitment to excellence. Grenada educators
equip men and women to be bellwethers in life, architects
in building a more just, thoughtful and humane world.
We could easily fill each edition with examples of Charger graduates who have achieved extraordinary success.
Students have carried the red and blue values into the
boardroom, the marketplace, and into virtually every corner of public life, the defining moments in which men and
women prove themselves worthy of the investment made
in them by exceptionally qualified, personally committed
educators and by the community that supports them. We
trust you’ll find the success journey of our first alum, Keith
Mitchell, as inspiring as we have.
Grenada native Keith Mitchell
has used sportsmanship as a
template for business success
Grenada Financial Professional Keith Mitchell wears
it well. After serving 33 years in the financial business,
the Grenada High School graduate has moved into the
chair of North Mississippi Area President at Regions
Bank. Any whisper of pride Mitchell allows to creep
into his voice when speaking of his success he directs
solely at his colleagues and the company as a whole, but
the 54-year-old is one of the key executives overseeing
some $3 billion in total assets, the largest market share
in North Mississippi, along with 360 associates, working in 50 branch locations.
Despite the immensity of his responsibilities, Mitchell carries himself with sincere humility. His executive
demeanor is confident, yet not arrogant, gracious, yet
not chummy, poised and engaging. Upon meeting him,
you instantly realize that there’s something else. He
has just the right amount of masculine confidence that
certain other men recognize. Its subtle, but it seems to
say, in man-speak, “This guy has felt the ear-ringing,
almost humiliating ferocity of a well-executed crackback block,” or, “He knows that tuning fork in the soul
feeling of catching a waist-high, inner-third-of-theplate fastball right on the sweet spot of the bat, and the
pitch-perfect, impossible to reproduce sound of aluminum – or, whatever moon rock bats are made of these
days - when the ball leaps off the barrel and you can tell
its headed for the left-center gap and won’t stop until it
thumps up against that sign for the local insurance guy
you’re always aiming for.”
All that makes perfect sense because, as Mitchell will
tell you, many of the character traits that have served
him well in the financial industry he learned under the
Friday night lights of Charger football games and by
catching fly balls off a fungo bat until he knew how to
account for every whisper of wind, angle of the sun, and
air density that might help him turn a game-winning,
deep fly to center into just another long, breath-holding
out.
“Welcome man! Good to see you,” Mitchell said,
immediately walking around from behind the desk in
his spacious, reservedly appointed office. He took a
seat at a round table, a piece of furniture that removed
any position of authority. Mitchell’s administrative assistant materialized with cold bottles of water, ice and
cups, and, as she quietly withdrew, Mitchell whispered,
“Thank you,” a small courtesy one guesses he never
fails to extend to employees.
To use a horse racing metaphor, Mitchell never really
pulled away from the field in high school academics, he
said. He wasn’t a poor student, exactly, but there was
no reason to pick him out the chorus and say, “That’s
our star.” “I had fine, dedicated teachers and for that I’ll
always be grateful,” Mitchell said. If he had to point to
one moment when he first realized that he wanted to
work in finance, Mitchell said, it was penning an essay
in Helen Lamar’s ninth-grade English class about career
aspirations. Mitchell admits that, for him, the allure of
banking wasn’t based solely on the prospect of handling
money. One clue is in Mitchell’s comportment and
sense of style. He favors crisp, neatly appointed, tastefully reserved business attire, modeled after watching
his uncle, a revered financial man, move though life
with a masculine grace as rare and charming today as a
gentleman’s handkerchief.
Mitchell earned a scholarship to play football and
baseball at Delta State University after graduating from
Grenada High School in 1979. Life lessons and the ability to throw a good two-seam fastball weren’t the only
things he took away from GSD. It was there Mitchell
met the love of his life and soul mate, Beth Pinnix. They
have been married for 33 years. They have a son, Matt,
who is studying physical therapy at the University of
Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Mitchell started
playing both baseball and football for the Fighting Okra,
but as even the parents of Pee-Wee football players
today know, there really is no off-season. As coaches
have done since the dawn of organized competition,
jealous for every second they can squeeze out of life to
prepare and condition their athletes, Mitchell’s football
coach soon persuaded the two-sport athlete to hang up
his glove and spikes and devote himself completely to
the gridiron. It paid off, though, because Mitchell was
an important part of the Delta State team that won the
1983 Conference Championship. Mitchell left DSU
clutching his bachelor’s diploma in finance and, with
the confidence of a defensive back who’s studied game
film, set out to make a career in the banking world.
Mitchell began his career on the production side,
filling various and sundry roles in places like Water
Valley and Calhoun City, before returning to Grenada
in 1988. Three months ago, after having done bootson-the-ground work in most every aspect of the business, he was chosen to follow Jimmy Brown as North
Mississippi Area President. “This is a relationship-based
business,” said Mitchell. “The most gratifying part of
my work is being in a position to help people achieve
their financial goals and to have some part in improving
quality of life in this community that has given me so
much,” said Mitchell.
Banking is certainly changing, like most every aspect
of life, Mitchell said, speaking with the credibility that
only a man whose first jobs in banking required him
to have Stone Age implements like a good ink pen and
plenty of paper forms. Part of the challenge he and
those like him, who have lived long enough and worked
hard enough to reach leadership positions, he said, is
to understand and adapt to a banking world in which
foot traffic in the building is dwindling to a trickle and
online finance is the norm. He takes comfort in his
belief that personal service, and fundamental virtues
like honesty, integrity and fairness, that were drilled into
him while he sweated and bled alongside his teammates,
will never become irrelevant and always, no matter how
fancy the gadgetry, form the basis of good business.
The lessons that teammates learn together, Mitchell
said, like humility in victory and graciousness in defeat,
and the wisdom to use sport as a unique opportunity to
honor the community in which one was raised, along
with the virtues by which its people live, define not
only sportsmanship, but are the cornerstones of building a reputation as hardworking, fair and good man in
business as well. “I learned to be a good teammate,”
Mitchell said. “I’ve been blessed in so many ways, with
a fine upbringing and education, a wonderful wife and
son, and opportunities to express my gratitude through
using my gifts in service of the community, including
the school district, that has been so good to me.” Mitchell let his eyes wander for a moment, breaking his usual
intent but not intensive gaze. Then, he smiled. “Being
in a position to help this community grow, to help good
people realize their dreams, is a tremendous responsibility,” Mitchell said. “I take that very seriously.”
GSD Website
www.grenadak12.com
Grenada School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
gender, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other
characteristics protected by law in any of its policies, practices, procedures
or program operation. Grenada School District is an equal opportunity employer. For inquiries regarding this policy on discrimination contact: Title
IX Coordinator, Mrs. Kim Ezell; ADA/504 Coordinator, Dr. Becky Terry;
Grenada School District, 253 S. Main, Grenada, MS 38901; 662-226-1606