Kerrie Fountain Named OFTC’s 2025 Rick Perkins Award Winner & Instructor of the Year

OFTC – Kerrie Fountain, a Practical Nursing instructor at Oconee Fall Line Technical College (OFTC) was recently named the College’s 2025 Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction (RPA) winner and Instructor of the Year. 

The announcement was made during the college’s 2024 Awards Luncheon held on the Dublin Campus, Wednesday, December 11.  

The RPA program seeks to honor the Technical College System of Georgia’s (TCSG) most outstanding instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership.  

Fountain is a graduate of Middle Georgia College and South University and has taught students enrolled in OFTC’s Practical Nursing program since 2021.  

She was nominated for the RPA by OFTC’s Dean of Allied health Programs, Tammy Bayto. 

“Kerrie gives 100% to each student’s success,” Bayto shared. “She often makes herself available to students well beyond the end of class to provide remediation on difficult concepts. She is a natural encourager and supporter of individual dreams.” 

“She knows the balance between supporting her students while providing the structure and boundaries required in an effective environment,” she added. 

Fountain competed against other college nominees where each participant prepared a speech and participated in a series of interviews held by a panel of judges made up of local community members from Washington County. The judges were Rita Hunt, Ann Lastinger, Carolyn Whitaker, and Diane Davie. 

The instructors were judged on criteria like innovative instruction, educational achievement, and college and community leadership. 

The other competing RPA finalists were Gerald Burten, Commercial Truck Driving (CTD) Instructor; Scott Gray, Practical Nursing Instructor; Jeff Partridge, Welding and Joining Technology Instructor; and Travolta Pullen, CTD Instructor.  

As the college’s 2025 RPA winner, Fountain will represent OFTC in regionals as she competes against other top instructors from TCSG colleges in February. The top region finalists will compete at the state-level in Atlanta in April where the winner will be named the state’s 2025 RPA winner by the TCSG.  

For more info on OFTC or the College’s 130+ programs of study, visit the College’s website, OFTC.edu. 

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