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Founding
In the early 1960's, only about 30% of rural South Georgia
high school graduates were going to college. Many of the
graduates were moving out of the area to seek employment. These
South Georgia counties were losing their most valuable
assets--their young generation.
Several of the area's most visionary and progressive thinkers
gathered in Irwin County on a regular basis to discuss the
politics at hand. These citizens, who became known as the
"courthouse gang", were instrumental in lighting the flame which
now burns brightly within the East Central Technical College
logo.
 These
visionaries had a plan to establish a vocational technical
school that would serve Ben Hill, Irwin, Tift and Turner
counties. Irwin County's Representative Harry Mixon and Ben Hill
County's representative A.B.C. Dorminy, Jr. made state officials
aware that their constituents were planning for the future of
South Georgia citizens.
At a meeting held in Irwinville on October 1, 1963, State
director of vocational education, W.M. Hicks, met with
representatives of the four counties. Hicks came to the meeting
with the idea of discouraging the school plan but after seeing
the enthusiasm of the group, he urged them to proceed. The plan
proposed that night was to construct a vocational-technical
school on land available as near as possible to the center of
the counties, at a cost of approximately $25,000 for each
county. Tift and Turner Counties eventually opted out of the
plan forcing Ben Hill and Irwin Counties to decide whether or
not to proceed. "Yes" was the unanimous response from Irwin
County officials Fred Ross, George Paulk, John Parrish and K.N.
Phillips. "Yes" echoed the response from Ben Hill County
officials Billy Snowden, Jack Massee, Norman Dorminy and J.C.
Hunter.
 One of Mixon and Dorminy's first moves was to enlist the aid
of Governor Carl Sanders. A statewide referendum would have to
pass to amend the Georgia constitution to allow counties to
cooperate in projects of this nature. This amendment in itself
was a milestone in Georgia history, being the first of its kind.
This amendment led the way for numerous joint county initiatives
since that time. Ben Hill and Irwin County signed a dual-county
agreement that indicated their desire to establish the school
and set up its governing board and policies. They named as
officers of the first Board of Education the following: Charles
Harris, Ocilla, chairman; Irwin County Commissioner Fred Ross,
vice-chairman; and Ben Hill County School Superintendent J.C.
Hunter, secretary-treasurer. Other members of the board were
Lewis Brinson, M.S. Harrison, and County Commissioner Norman
Dorminy of Ben Hill and County School Superintendent K. N.
Phillips and Mrs. Jack Willis of Irwin. These dedicated citizens
went to work with the determination to translate plans to
reality.
The advisory committee selected from business, professional,
industrial, and educational fields was formed next. From Ben
Hill County, W.D. Brown, Jr., C.E. Guske, William Mann, Jr.,
John Ron Paulk, and George R. Street were chosen. From Irwin
County came Leroy Dorminy, Alfonso Owens, Richard C. Owens,
Murphey Rogers, and Mrs. W.C. Sams. Ben Mills of Ben Hill and
Emory Walters of Irwin were chosen as attorneys. Later, Murphey
Rogers succeeded Emory Walters.
To decide which county name should precede the other in the
official name of the school, Mills and Walters tossed a coin.
Mills won the toss and, of course, decided the name should read
"Ben Hill-Irwin."
Early Years
On July 1, 1968 the board employed the first director, Lewis
Brinson and one year later on June 25th groundbreaking
ceremonies were held. Ben Hill-Irwin Tech officially opened its
doors to its first full-time student body of approximately 200
on September 21, 1970. The first full-time graduates received
their diplomas on September 15, 1971.
On June 10, 1977 groundbreaking ceremonies were held for a
new $600,000 expansion to house new programs and the dedication
of the expansion was almost to the date one year later on June
9, 1978.
Ben Hill-Irwin Tech began instruction in a computer
electronics technology program in the fall of 1982. Also that
year, the drafting program received a computer-aided drafting
system. In 1983 the machine shop curriculum was expanded by the
approval of a co-op program with Robins Air Force Base.
Upon the retirement of Lewis Brinson, Dr. Ed Greene was
appointed the new director on January 1, 1984, a position that
would later be changed to president. Early in 1984 the state
board of postsecondary vocational education was created to
coordinate vocational education in Georgia.
In April of 1985 the Ben Hill-Irwin Tech Foundation was
established with Buck Anderson elected as its first president.
The Foundation was the first among technical schools in Georgia.
A joint degree program with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
was initiated in 1986, making it possible for Ben Hill-Irwin
Tech students to earn the degree of Associate in Applied Science
from Abraham Baldwin.
Changes continued in mid-1987. Ben Hill-Irwin Area Vocational
Institute became Ben Hill-Irwin Technical Institute. The Ben
Hill-Irwin Area Vocational Trade School Board of Education
became the Ben Hill-Irwin Technical Institute Board of
Directors.
A new technical program was begun in July 1988 when
telecommunications technology accepted its first students. One
year later this program received a national grant for
telecommunications technology students, which makes funds
available for students to engage in on-the-job training in
participating industries.
Two other changes came in 1988. Charles Harris, a member of
the local board since its creation in 1966, resigned when he
received from Governor Joe Frank Harris an appointment to the
State Board of Technical and Adult Education. And, for the first
time in the history of Ben Hill-Irwin Tech the annual graduation
program was held away from the campus at the Grand Theater in
Fitzgerald.
Early in 1990, Dr. Kenneth Breeden, DTAE Commissioner,
visited the main campus and explained the benefits of the school
becoming a state school. Members of the local board, the
foundation board and other concerned citizens were in
attendance. There was some reluctance to give up local control
but due to funding guidelines the school passed from local
control to state governance on July 1, 1990.
 On
November 9, 1993 groundbreaking was held for the Charles Harris
Learning Center, and funding was made possible by the state
legislature for the new building. Construction was completed in
late 1994. Included in the new facility were an auditorium,
classrooms and offices. The new structure was added to the front
campus and completely changed the appearance of the campus.
Dedication was held on July 23, 1995.
The Douglas Satellite Center was originally located at the
Douglas Airport and later moved to a renovated building on
Jackson Street. After a successful fund-raising campaign in
Coffee County, it was decided a new satellite center would be
needed to meet the demand of Coffee County's citizens. The land
for the Coffee campus was originally part of South Georgia
College and was deeded from the Board of Regents to DTAE to
provide Douglas a satellite campus of ECTC. Groundbreaking for
the Douglas Satellite Center was held on August 1, 1995.
East Central Technical
College
On June 30, 1996, Dr. Ed Greene, the school's second
president retired and on July 1, 1996, Dr. Diane Harper became
the third president. In an effort to be more visible in the
other counties of the service area, the Telfair Learning Center
opened in Helena on July 28, 1996. It was decided that a more
regional name was needed for the school and on November 7, 1996
the name officially changed to East Central Technical Institute.
Further county expansions were occurring as groundbreaking
ceremonies were being held in Rochelle for the Wilcox Lifelong
Learning Center. An ardent supporter of the school,
Representative Newt Hudson was guest speaker at the
groundbreaking and pledged his continued support for improving
the quality of life for all area citizens.
July 23, 1997 ribbon cutting ceremonies were held for the
Coffee campus. Several local dignitaries were on hand to add
their endorsement to the Coffee County area. They included,
Senator Van Streat, Representative Chuck Sims and local business
leader Francis Lott. On the day of the ribbon cutting ceremony,
Commissioner Ken Breeden, after talking to several business
leaders, made comments as to how this facility would have to be
enlarged just to keep up with the needs of this community. On
January 10, 1998, a covered work area at the rear of the
building was closed in and the facility gained an additional
1,898 square feet of lab space.
The next few years were very eventful as enrollment continued
to soar and community involvement became more evident. July 16,
1998 ribbon cutting ceremonies were held for the Wilcox campus.
April 28, 1999 groundbreaking was held for a new campus in
Turner County and on March 12, 2000 the Telfair Learning Center
was moved to highway 441 North in McRae.
In July of 2000, Governor Roy Barnes became the architect of
the technical college network in Georgia. According to Governor
Barnes "the term 'technical institute' conjured up images of
shop class. We must make people understand that 'technical
college' means computer lab. We want to send a clear message to
every child in Georgia that our technical colleges give you the
chance to be a part of our high tech future." On January 3, 2001
East Central became a technical college.
In the spring of 2001 service areas were shifted to meet the
economic climate of the counties affected. East Central Tech
turned over the Turner County Center to Moultrie Tech and the
Telfair Center to Heart of Georgia Tech. Atkinson County was
then added to ECTC's service area. On June 25, 2001 an agreement
was signed for classroom space for the Pearson Learning Center
in Atkinson County.
On September 18, 2001, groundbreaking was held for a new
childcare center on the Ben Hill-Irwin campus. This fulfilled a
life long dream of President Harper's and thus was the
inspiration to start building a multi-million dollar endowment
with the theme, "Share the Dream." The endowment would include:
an equipment endowment; a renovation endowment; a scholarship
endowment; a facility endowment; and a staff development
endowment.
On October 4, 2001, the welding program facilities on the Ben
Hill-Irwin campus were expanded and on November 26, 2001, a
ribbon cutting was held commemorating extensive renovations of
the cosmetology program facilities on the Ben Hill-Irwin Campus.
 On
April 10, 2002, $10,000,000 was approved for a new technology
building on the Ben Hill-Irwin Campus. In July of 2002, East
Central Tech had its first national winner in the SkillsUSA
competition held in Kansas City, MO. This accomplishment was
repeated in 2003, 2005, and 2006.
October 30,
2002 marked groundbreaking for the new technology building. The
building was completed in
2006 with ribbon-cutting ceremonies held on April 27 of that
year.
Dr. Diane
Harper retired as East Central Technical College’s third
President on August 31, 2005. Valdosta Technical College James
Bridges served as interim President while a committee comprised
of leaders from the five-county service area conducted a search
for the new President. On January 11, 2006 the Georgia Board of
Technical and Adult Education unanimously approved Commissioner
Michael Vollmer’s recommendation to name Ray Perren as President
of ECTC. On February 1, 2006, Perren became the fourth president
of East Central Technical College.
The College
continues to grow under Dr. Perren’s leadership with a new
Transportation and Logistics Center scheduled to open in Douglas
in 2008. ECTC plans to build an Allied Health and Public Safety
Center on the Coffee County campus by 2010. Plans are also
underway to arrange for student housing to support students
who attend any of ECTC’s signature programs.
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