Nominees included: Mattie Buchannon (Practical Nursing); Kenneth DeLong (Air Conditioning Technology); Charlene Duncan (Early Childhood Care & Education); Jill Mash (Visual Communications/Printing and Graphics Technology); Katrina Towns (Adult Education); and Kaven Williams (Telecommunications Engineering Technology).

After presentation of the nominees, the winner for Albany Tech was announced. Early Childhood Care and Education instructor, Charlene Duncan, was named the 2011 Instructor of the Year.

“It is a privilege to be named as the Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year for Albany Technical College,” said Duncan. “I work with such awesome instructors and to be chosen from among such skills professionals is an honor. I am looking forward to the rest of the awards process and excited about meeting other faculty members from various technical colleges and sharing all of the great things that are happening here on our wonderful campus and within the Technical College System of Georgia.”

Duncan boasts 14 years of experience in the education field. Prior to joining Albany Tech, she worked as an elementary school teacher in the Dougherty County School System. She received her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Albany State University and her master of education in Early Childhood Education from Georgia Southwestern State University. She is currently working on her Educational Doctorate in Educational Leadership with Nova Southeastern University.

Named the 2007 Educator of the Year from the Georgia Association on Young Children (GAYC), she also serves as the District-1-Southwest Georgia Representative on the Georgia Association on Young Children’s Board of Directors. This allows her to help ensure that the Early Childhood Education programming for children, families, and the training of current and potential teachers/caregivers of young children of Albany and Southwest Georgia continue to grow and remain strong.

Duncan will represent Albany Tech on a regional and state level for The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction. The regional winners receive statewide recognition for their achievement, and then move to state-level competition. Final state-level judging occurs in May, and the Rick Perkins Award Winner is announced at the GOAL/Rick Perkins Award Banquet.

The Rick Perkins Award winner serves as an ambassador for technical education in Georgia. He or she will make many public appearances throughout the year including addresses to the Georgia General Assembly, the Governor and the Georgia Technical College System Leadership Conference.