Sherry Crane chosen for Lanier Technical College 2014 GOAL Award

Sherry Crane, a Business Administrative Technology student at Lanier Technical College from Commerce, has been named as the College’s winner of the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL).

The announcement was made at the Gainesville Lions Club luncheon on February 4th. Crane was chosen by a panel of local leaders over three other nominees for the award. The runners-up were Annamarie Keck of Flowery Branch, a Business Administrative Technology student; Susan Gates of Buford, a Healthcare Science student; and Stormy Wren of Cumming, an Early Childhood Care and Education student.

GOAL, a statewide program of the Technical College System of Georgia, honors excellence in academics and leadership among the state’s technical college students. Local GOAL winners are selected at each of the state’s 24 technical colleges as well as one Board of Regents college with a technical education division.

The announcement of Crane as Lanier Technical College's GOAL winner was made by Mr. Mike Hall, President of the Gainesville Lions Club and Dr. Ray Perren, President of Lanier Technical College. The Gainesville Lions Club has supported the Lanier Technical College GOAL program since 1997.

Crane told the audience, “I have fallen in love with Lanier Technical College, with the technical colleges, and what they represent, what they are able to do for the state, and for people.”

Crane will now proceed to regional judging. All college GOAL winners will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Atlanta for two days in April. Nine regional finalists, three finalists from the three regions, will be announced in Atlanta on April 23rd and 24th. A panel of leaders from the business, industry and government sectors will interview them and choose one to be the 2014 state GOAL winner and the recipient of the GOAL medallion.

As part of the grand prize, the statewide GOAL winner will receive a new car, courtesy of Chevrolet, the statewide corporate sponsor of the GOAL program.

Crane is the wife of Mickey Crane and daughter of Elizabeth Dorsey of Commerce. She chose to attend Lanier Technical College to earn her degree and pursue a career as an administrative assistant.

Lanier Technical College has a 100% placement rate (83.5% in field), an education guarantee, and offers over 40 programs of study in some of the nation's fastest-growing career fields including healthcare, energy, business and industry, and public or private service. More information about Lanier Technical College or GOAL may be obtained by calling 770-531-6300 or by visiting www.laniertech.edu. Lanier Technical College is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia.