Tech Center honors first director

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada school district honored Jerry Whitson for his 22 years of service as director of the Nevada Regional Technical Center as part of Career and Technical Education month on Friday.

Students of NRTC attended the ceremony and celebration of NRTC's 40th anniversary.

"The final recognition of this assembly goes to one of the most important figures in the 40-year history of NRTC," speaker Chanel Botha said. "He's not only the founding director, but also the director with the longest record of service. In recognition for all Whitson has done for NRTC, we are dedicating the flagpole outside the tech center in his honor and presented him with a plaque. You are truly a CTE superhero."

In addition to the NRTC flagpole, the flag flying over the US capitol Friday was flown in his honor. Whitson said he was surprised by the recognition.

"It feels wonderful to be the honoree," he said. "My time here was good because I had good people to work for and work with and there was plenty of support for the vocational program. I want to thank the school district. I appreciate this very much. Hopefully the district can continue on with the program and make it even better."

Speaker Megan Mason presented the history of NRTC, which is rooted in Congress's legislation supporting vocational education in the early 1960s.

"In July of 1970, the school district applied to the state for approval to build a vocational education center," she said. "The application was approved in September, and by October, the school board was searching for an architectural firm and a director for the vocational programs. Jerry Whitson was hired in the spring of 1971. Whitson took up the work of promoting vocational education to secure votes for the 2/3 majority to pass a school bond issue. In the days leading up to the October vote, the bond issue was publicly endorsed by the Optimist club, area banks, 3M, the Chamber of Commerce, and the editor of the Nevada Daily Mail."

The voters approved the school bond issue 89 percent in favor, she said. Construction began in July 1972, and the school opened in September of 1973.

"The vocational programs that existed in the early years have evolved to prepare students for college and the highly technical careers of today," speaker Marli Coonrod said. "Traditional programs were designed for students to go straight into the workforce. Today, they equip students with core academic skills, employability skills and the job specific technical skills we need to be successful."

The tech center's programs include agriculture, automotive tech, business, construction tech, culinary arts, early childhood careers, graphic design, health science, marketing, project lead the way and welding tech, she said.

"Students who complete programs are able to leave high school with college credit, professional experience and industry recognized credentials," she said. "This year, enrollment is at an all-time high for CTE, with more than 500 students taking courses at NRTC."