Friends, family and the community gathered in the Conference Center at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) Gordon County Campus in Calhoun on Nov. 1 to honor 25 students graduating from Basic POST Certification Class #BPC1-2024-08.

The Basic POST Certification (BPC) program is designed to train and prepare graduates for employment as entry-level Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) certified police officers. The 11-week program is part of GNTC’s Law Enforcement Academy.

Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk, guest speaker at the ceremony, urged the graduates to consider whether they will be survivor officers who maintain the status quo, successful officers or significant officers who make a difference in the world.

“Go back to your community and your agencies and be part of the solution,” Sisk said. “Change starts here, and it starts with you.”

Jim Pledger, program director and instructor of GNTC’s Law Enforcement Academy, said the class is the largest in the program’s 16-year history.

Mason Allen served as the student speaker for the ceremony. Donald Summerville was presented with the “Top Gun” award for excellence in marksmanship, and Miles Brittsan received the Academic (Honor Graduate) Award for having the highest grade point average.

Graduates recited their Oath of Honor at the conclusion of the ceremony, vowing “On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the Constitution, my community and the agency I serve.”Graduates of GNTC’s #BPC1-2024-08 are (from left, front row) Jorge Robledo, William Saenz Davila, Christopher Cline, Charles Blair, Charles Wright, Eduardo Marrero; (second row) Daisy Trujillo, Clayton Evans, Jose Noe Rodriguez, Jade Pitts, Rachel Ochoa, Alan Black, Jared Patterson; (third row) Karl Crane, Mason Allen, Preston Woodard, Gladys Martinez, Miles Brittsan; (back row) Mark Lacoursiere, William Beach, Benjamin Mollohan, Ethan Brock, Michael Cox, David Weber and Donald Summerville.

Graduates of GNTC’s #BPC1-2024-08 are Mason Allen, William Beach, Alan Black, Charles Blair, Miles Brittsan, Ethan Brock, Christopher Cline, Michael Cox, Karl Crane, Clayton Evans, Mark Lacoursiere, Eduardo Marrero, Gladys Martinez, Benjamin Mollohan, Rachel Ochoa, Jared Patterson, Jade Pitts, Jorge Robledo, Jose Noe Rodriguez, William Saenz Davila, Donald Summerville, Daisy Trujillo, David Weber, Preston Woodard and Charles Wright. 

Black, Brittsan, Brock, Robledo and Woodard are employed by the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office; Lacoursiere, Patterson and Pitts are employed by the Murray County Sheriff’s Office. 

Allen, Beach, Cline, Crane, Evans, Marrero, Ochoa, Rodriguez and Wright are employed by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office