Owen Stokes Named OFTC’s 2026 GOAL Winner

Owen Stokes, a Radiologic Technology student at Oconee Fall Line Technical College (OFTC) was recently announced as the college’s 2026 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) winner during a college awards luncheon, Thursday, December 11.  

Stokes is a resident of Baldwin County. 

GOAL is a statewide program within the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) that honors excellence in academics and leadership among the state’s technical college students.  

Five OFTC students were nominated by instructors for this year’s competition and competed in a series of interviews and evaluations by a selection committee made up of representatives from local businesses and industries, and judged on qualities like academic achievement, personal character, leadership ability and enthusiasm for technical education. 

This year’s competing nominees were Alexandria Bryant (Laurens), Associate Degree in Nursing Bridge; Angelique Carlyle (Washington), Business Technology; Mallory Hodges (Washington), Radiologic Technology; Lacey Kilgore (Laurens), Associate of Science in Nursing; and Owen Stokes (Baldwin), Radiologic Technology.   

Stokes was nominated by Radiologic Technology instructor, Sierra Smith, and this year’s selection committee consisted of representatives from the Dublin Rotary Club. 

All five nominees were honored during the awards luncheon where Stokes was announced as the winner. Other college awards were also announced, including the 2025 Alumni of the Year Award, the college’s 2026 Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction Instructor of the Year, the 2026 Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education winner, and the 2026 Adult Education Teacher of the Year.  

As the college’s 2026 GOAL winner, Stokes will compete in regional judging against winners from other TCSG colleges in February and will represent OFTC at the state-level in Atlanta in April when one student will be named the statewide 2026 Goal winner by the TCSG.  

OFTC’s Rick Perkins Award & Instructor of the Year winner, Kelley Braxton, was also announced. Braxton is a Respiratory Care Instructor at OFTC.  

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

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