Today, Governor Brian P. Kemp and State School Superintendent Richard Woods announced that Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) Construction and Facilities Director Bruce Ballard is one of two winners of the 2023-2024 Georgia RISE (Recognizing Inspirational School Employees) Award. Each year, the U.S. Department of Education awards the RISE Award to a full or part-time classified school employee who provides exemplary service in public education. Ballard will now go on to compete in the national RISE Competition.
“It’s my honor to recognize these two hardworking Georgians for their service to the children of our state,” said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. “Mr. Ballard and Mrs. Whitaker work hard each day to ensure students in Georgia’s K-12 schools have a safe and productive learning experience, and Marty and I are grateful for their efforts and Marty and I are grateful for their efforts on behalf of the students who will step into the jobs of the future.”
GSCS Superintendent Dr. Keith Simmons stated, “Bruce Ballard is very deserving of this honor. He is a loyal, dedicated servant to this school system and this community and I am proud of him. I am also happy for his family. This award speaks to their support and sacrifice and shows how much others value their influence in Griffin-Spalding.”
Ballard’s nominator, GSCS Executive Director of Communications and Partnerships Adam Pugh, wrote, “Bruce Ballard is a selfless servant who manages a mountain of responsibilities and completes seemingly endless tasks while maintaining a calm cheerful spirit and positive attitude. Bruce Ballard oversees maintenance and facilities for the school district. He maintains more than 20 campuses with a small staff of dedicated maintenance technicians. He often delegates much of the load to himself because he strives for excellence and wants to make sure each job is done right with each detail meticulously executed. Everything Bruce does is focused on providing the safest, best learning environment for our students. Whether renovating older buildings, managing crews to repair heating and air systems, plumbing, electrical and landscaping, or new projects like digital message boards, an airplane hangar at our college and career academy, inclusive playgrounds or a beautiful turf football field, he strives for excellence and realizes it. Bruce Ballard makes GSCS and the entire community better every day.”
“Mr. Ballard truly exemplified excellence and poise in crisis management on January 12, 2023, when five tornadoes permanently changed our community. Mr. Ballard immediately stepped into emergency response mode. He went from campus to campus school to school, checking generators to ensure that students and staff sheltering in place could stay warm until it was safe to leave the building. He led crewmen with tree removal projects and inspected each building for structural integrity and repairs. Mr. Ballard worked seven days a week, countless hours each day, to help the school district and community establish normalcy in the aftermath of the tornadoes that disseminated areas of the County and City. He coordinated efforts with FEMA and he is still working with insurance companies as part of the process for repairing and restoring facilities,” stated GSCS Executive Director of Human Resources Judi Battle in a letter of recommendation.
All schools and districts were invited to submit a nominee for the Georgia RISE Award. Nomination forms were reviewed by a panel of judges composed of representatives from the Georgia Department of Education and numerous education organizations. The highest-scoring applications were presented to Governor Kemp, who made the final selection of two nominees.
Employees in the following job categories are eligible for consideration for the Georgia RISE Award: paraprofessionals, clerical and administrative services, transportation services, food and nutrition services, custodial and maintenance services, health and student services, technical services, security services and skilled trades.
“If one were to poll every person who has ever worked for Bruce Ballard, I would confidently wager that all would consider him a mentor, teacher and respected friend. Bruce works with many skilled tradesmen who have hundreds of combined years in their crafts. These are men who know quality, safety and hard work across multiple disciplines such as PVC, welding, electricity, concrete, etc. and all respect Bruce. Skilled tradesmen can spot a fake. If Bruce Ballard can pass their test and lead them all well for the betterment of thousands of children for over 20 years, then I think it is safe to say he is the exemplary leader among classified staff in the state of Georgia and is very deserving of this RISE award,” stated his nominator.
“Classified employees are often the ‘unsung heroes’ of our public schools, working tirelessly to keep our school systems operating efficiently to the benefit of Georgia students,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I offer my sincere congratulations to Mr. Ballard and Mrs. Whitaker and thank them for their contributions to education in Georgia.”