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 Morrow,
Ga., Apr. 21, 2006 – Thomas
George, a man who bleeds Laker Blue and Orange, has been
named Clayton State University’s Most Outstanding and
Distinguished Alumnus for 2006.
George, along with four other alumni
honorees, was feted before a crowd of more than 100 at last
night’s Annual Clayton State Alumni Association Annual
Meeting and Dinner at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
George is currently employed as the Director
of Human Resources at North Georgia College & State
University in Dahlonega. From 1998 until April 2004 he
worked at Clayton State in various positions, the last as
Assistant Director of Human Resources. He recieved two
degrees and a Certificate from Clayton State, an Associate
of Arts in Business Administration (1989), a Bachelor of
Business Administration in Management (1990), and a
Certificate in Information Technology (1999). He also earned
a masters from Kennesaw State University in
2003.
Beginning in 2002, the Clayton State Alumni
Association began recognizing outstanding alumni achievement
through the Distinguished Alumni awards. Each year, the
awards spotlight the professional excellence, leadership and
community involvement of Clayton State alumni.
Additional award winners announced last night
included; Jocelyn Okoro ’05, David Lindley ’97 and ’99,
Judge Steven C. Teske ’81, and Dee Ann Turner ’89.
Additional finalists for the 2006 Outstanding Alumni Awards
were: Gordon Baker ’73, Lou Brackett ’84, Kendall Ellis ’03,
Paula Hicks ’99, and Peter Zolja ’05.
In addition to working at Clayton State for
six years, George served on the Clayton State Alumni
Association Board of Directors from 1994 to 2005, including
serving as President from 2001 to 2003. He was also a member
of the Clayton State Foundation Board of Trustees during his
term as Alumni President. Anyone who ever had the chance to
hear George speak about Clayton State, especially during his
term as Alumni Association President, will recall his
passion for the University, its professors, students and
alumni.
Among his recent accomplishments at North
Georgia, he was recently appointed the Customer Service
Champion to represent the school at the University System
level.
Born to teachers of Indian origin in
Malaysia, George and his wife, Bissy, have two children,
Michael, six and-half years old, and Sarah Ann, two years
old. In his spare time, George enjoys astronomy, reading,
playing cricket and badminton and being a Clayton State
alumnus.
Okoro graduated in the fall of 2005 with a
bachelor’s degree in nursing. She was part of the Clayton
State student nursing group that went to the areas affected
by Hurricane Katrina. Okoro’s group was stationed in a
Jackson, Miss., shelter that housed special needs and
medical surgical needs patients. The volunteers made sure
that patients received the medications that they were
currently taking along with changing dressings for wounds.
Said Okoro of the experience, “It was very
rewarding knowing that I was helping people in need and a
wonderful feeling swept over me every time they expressed
how appreciative they were. It was heart breaking to see
they had one storage box of belongings to start their lives
all over again with.”
A native of Nigeria and a resident of Stone
Mountain, Okoro currently works at St. Joseph’s Hospital in
Atlanta.
Okoro is also a former Clayton State soccer
player and has been a volunteer assistant coach for the
program the last two years, helping lead the program to
national prominence. She also loves volunteering for food
and clothes drives, and donates blood.
A loyal supporter of Clayton State whenever a
group needs help sponsoring event, Lindley is manager
of the Chick-fil-A in Forest Park. He graduated from Clayton
State in 1997 with an Associate of Applied Science in
Marketing and in 1999 with a Bachelor’s degree of Applied
Science in Business Management.
Along with his support of Clayton State,
Lindley actively supports many schools, churches, and
non-profit organizations in the community. Some of his
programs include, “Spirit Nights” at the local schools or
“Holy Cow Nights” at several of the local churches.
On his job, Lindley says he enjoys having the
opportunity to mentor his fellow employees.
“I have strong relationships with my team
members. I like being involved in their lives and know
what’s going on, which proves invaluable during times of
need or crisis. Chick-fil-A is a family business, and the
business I run in Forest Park is my extended family,” he
says.
“Whether it’s playing an active role in an
athletics event, supporting the Clayton State Ride Share
program on Earth Day or helping with a Science Club
fundraiser, he is always there,” says Director of Alumni
Relations Gid Rowell. “We appreciate his service and
dedication to the community.”
Teske received his Associate of Arts in
Political Science from Clayton State in 1981. In addition,
he obtained his bachelors in 1983, masters in 1988 and his
law degree in 1991, all from Georgia State.
Teske was appointed to the juvenile bench of
Clayton County in 1999 and reappointed in 2003. Prior to
appointment, he was a trial attorney and partner in the law
firm of Boswell & Teske, where he served as special
assistant attorney general representing various state
agencies in federal and state courts and also the Clayton
County Department of Family and Children Services
prosecuting abuse and neglect cases in Juvenile court.
While on the bench, he has received the
Scales of Justice Award from the National Association of
Legal Professionals for “conduct that exemplifies the
hallmark of professionalism and ethical standards and
inspires public confidence in the legal system,” the Judge
Romae T. Powell Award from the Georgia Association of
Juvenile Services Association, the Community Service Award
by the Clayton County Chapter of the NAACP, and the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution Hero of Open Government Award.
He is the author of the nationally acclaimed
juvenile detention alternative initiative titled “F.A.S.T.-S.T.A.R.T.”
which received the American probation and Parole
Association’s President’s Award for effectively reducing
detention by 44 percent and recidivism among offenders by 50
percent.
He serves on the Executive Board of the
Georgia Council of Juvenile Court. He was appointed by the
governor to the Board of the Georgia Children and Youth
Coordinating Council representing the 13th Congressional
District and also serves as Vice-Chair of the Board. He also
serves president of the Southern Crescent Habitat for
Humanity, on the Board of Trustees of the Securus House for
Battered Women and is Vice-President of the Southlake
Kiwanis.
Teske and his wife Deborah, have three
children, ages, 21, 17 and 16 and live in Atlanta.
Another human reoursce professional, and
another employee of Chick-fil-A, Turner began working at
Chick-fil-A, Inc., in 1985 in Human Resources. Now serving
as Vice President of Human Resources, she is responsible for
recruitment, selection and retention of more than 500
corporate staff and 800 Chick-fil-A unit operators. During
her 20 years at Chick-fil-A, she has been innovative in
developing selection processes to handle the 10,000-plus
Unit Operator applicants and 7,000-plus staff applicants
that inquire each year to Chick-fil-A.
Turner began her business education by
graduating with honors from Clayton State’s School of
Technology in 1989 in Management with an emphasis in Human
Resources. In addition to studying at Clayton State, she
also has completed management and executive programs from
Emory, the University of Virginia and the University of
North Carolina.
She has been married to Ashley Turner for the
past 22 years, and the Turners have three sons, ages 15, 11
and six. They are actively involved at Heritage Christian
Church. Dee Ann Turner leads an executive women’s weekly
Bible study and is active in various committees at Woodward
Academy.
She is also currently active in The Kenya
Project, a ministry providing Christian education to school
children in Nehuru, Kenya. Turner serves as secretary on the
Board of Directors for Burning Hearts Ministry and on the
Personnel Committee on the Board of Directors for Eagle
Ranch, a foster home ministry committed to re-uniting
families and resolving in-home challenges.
Clayton State University, located in Morrow,
is a state university of the University System of Georgia
serving the Metro Atlanta region.
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