Kelley Braxton Named OFTC’s 2026 Rick Perkins Award Winner & Instructor of the Year

Kelley Braxton, Clinical Coordinator and Instructor for Oconee Fall Line Technical College’s (OFTC) Respiratory Technology program and a Division Chair for the Allied Health Department was recently named the College’s 2026 Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction (RPA) winner and Instructor of the Year. 

The announcement was made during the college’s 2025 Awards Luncheon held on the Sandersville Campus, Thursday, 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. 

Nominees were judged by members of the Dublin Rotary Club on criteria like innovative instruction, educational achievement, and college and community leadership. 

Braxton lives in Bibb County and has been a part of the OFTC family since 2014. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Respiratory Therapy from Middle Georgia State University, and a Master of Science in Health Sciences with a concentration in Respiratory Therapy from Georgia State University. She is an active member of the Georgia Society for Respiratory Care (GSRC) and the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC).   

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

“Kelley is an effective and efficient educator who truly makes a difference in her students’ lives,” Bayto shared. “As demonstrated by excellent student pass rates on post-graduation registry exams, Kelley excels in both the classroom and clinical settings.”  

“At a time when compassion is not always foremost in health, she teaches her students not only to take care of the patient, but to also care for the patient as if the patient were a member of the students’ family. She brings the ‘care’ back to ‘healthcare,’” she added. 

As the college winner, Braxton 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 2026 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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