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prepares students for life after high school. Also, this would not be possible without the support and enthusiasm from local industry, such as McLendon Enterprises,” Superintendent Barry Waller emphasized.
The goal of this program is to equip high school students with the skills to operate heavy machinery and equipment. These skills will allow graduates to enter the workforce prepared to be a valuable accessory to industries and to earn good salaries. “In essence, where normal students entering the workforce after high school will make around $30,000, students who complete this pathway will be able to make upward of $40,000 to $50,000 per year,” Waller added. He stressed the need for these kinds of skilled laborers in local industries. “Both Chicken of the Sea and McLendon Enterprises have repeatedly shared that they need equipment operators.”
The program is led by teacher Tom Brodnax, who has now had over 40 students complete the pathway’s classes. “Out of 24 years of education, this is the single greatest thing I’ve ever been involved with,” Brodnax remarked. “When I first started teaching, I came in to get kids into college. Now, yes, I still support, that but I’m seeing kids get out of this program going straight into industry jobs. This thing is taking off, it’s unbelievable.”
Twenty-five schools followed Toombs County High School’s lead on the creation of the pathway, and offered their own Heavy Equipment Operation courses to their students. Because the popularity of the class had grown so much, leaders in the state decided to host a State Championship event for these students to show off their skills and compete for bragging rights, while also allowing industry partners to be able to scout potential employees.
The two-day competition featured events which demonstrated each competitor’s skills in operating bulldozers and excavators on the equipment and simulators, and tested the students’ knowledge of safety guidelines. The competition was led by Coordinator Jeremy Whitaker, who spoke about the opportunity.
“About five years ago, we decided that we needed to create a program in Georgia that would fill the workforce demand for heavy highway construction industry and horizontal construction in Georgia,” he shared. “Students are my heart and I wanted to create something for them that could lead them to a lucrative career path that they had no idea even existed.”
The competition also helped students to create connections with potential employers, as 15 industry partners, such as McLendon Enterprises, attended the event to speak with students about jobs and internships.
Toombs County High School selected their top students to compete in the state championship. Junior Ryder Sears competed against 23 other students in the excavator competition, while Senior Tanner Mobley competed in the bulldozer competition.
Toombs County High School Heavy Equipment Operations Teacher Tom Brodnax competed in the teacher-level competitions, and took home 2nd Place in the “Teacher on the Iron” competition and 3rd place in the Excavator Simulator Teacher Competition.
The state championship will now be held annually, as more schools begin to cultivate their own heavy equipment operations pathways.
COLLECTING THE RING – One of the activities that students were required to complete when competing in the excavator competition was grabbing a metal ring with the machine’s bucket and hanging it onto a hook.Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PLACING IN THE TEACHER COMPETITION – Toombs County High School Heavy Equipment Operations Teacher Tom Brodnax (left) was presented with a 2nd place award for his performance in the “Teacher on the Iron” competition and a 3rd place award for his work in the excavator simulator teacher competition by Heavy Equipment Operations State Championship Coordinator Jeremy Whitaker (right).
