KC holds GED graduation Friday

Kilgore College Adult Education Program will award 47 General Educational Development (GED) diplomas at its eleventh annual graduation ceremony 7 p.m. Friday, June 13, in Dodson Auditorium on the Kilgore College campus. More than 400 students have earned GED diplomas during the past year from KC, although only a portion of them have chosen to participate in the commencement.

District 7 Rep. Tommy Merritt will be the commencement speaker. Merritt, a native of Kilgore, attended KC and graduated from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. As a state representative, he currently serves all of Gregg County and the northern half of Smith County--including Lindale, Winona and Hide-A-Way.

Valedictorian for the class is Joshua (J.C.) Derrick of Longview and salutatorian is Sandra Morris, also of Longview. Derrick, a staff member of the college newspaper The Flare, also works part time as a sports writer for the Longview News-Journal.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity that KC has afforded me in my educational endeavors," Derrick said. "I'm looking forward to continuing my education at KC."

The KC Adult Education Program, directed by Bobbie McGee-Benson, is headquartered at KC--Longview, and has 22 other sites throughout Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties. Adult Education meets a variety of student needs including GED preparation, jobtraining assistance, college preparation, English as a Second Language and general life improvement skills.

Participating graduates (by hometown):

Gilmer: Melanie Alexander, Jimmie Barnes and Casi Werner

Gladewater: Justin Lloyd and Billie Vaughn

Henderson: Jacob McCoy

Kilgore: Stacy Chico, Brandi Cockran, Maribel Sanchez and Deborah Wedgeworth

Lewisville: Christopher Taliaferro

Longview: Joshua (J.C.) Derrick, Valedictorian, Sandra Morris, Salutatorian, Mercedes Bixby, Cameron Blakeley, Brian Clark, Shawandaka Coffman, Leatha Cooper, Trudy Elcome, Jason Fernandez, Adianna Gomez, Aaron Henry, David Henry, Ashlee Hudson, Stormy Jackson, Rebekah McMillen, Rosa Marroquim, Alexis Mills, Coderro Mims, Terry Moon Jr., Mary Newland, Kaci Ogle, Tyson Patterson, Brain Poe, Rosa Sapp, Kurtis Sides, Amanda Smalley, Cynthia Smith and Teresa Stone

Overton: Jarred Allen, Terry Dykes, Chasidy Houston, Cody Howell, Janet Logsdon and Sonya Washington.

White Oak: David Bunting

Winona: Ashley Ellis

Graduates Rosa Sapp, Billie Vaughn and Deborah Wedgeworth were also inducted in May to the KC chapter of the National Adult Education Honor Society. For more information, contact McGee-Benson at (903) 988-3738.