Twenty-three Thomas County Central High School Bands program members represented their school at the South Georgia Region Honor Band in Valdosta April 11-13. TCCHS had more youth musicians participate than any school in its region, which consists of all high schools from Alabama to the East Coast and as far north as Jones County. First chair trumpeter Teddy Cone delivered several solos. Other TCCHS first-chair earners were Jaclyn Maxwell (bass clarinet) and Tyler Laidman (bass trombone).

Three Thomas County Central High School Future Business Leaders of America chapter members will showcase their skills in a national competition this summer.

Dev Patel, Manthan Patel and Kayla Carr won first place in their respective categories at the recent 2024 Georgia FBLA State Leadership Conference & Competition in Atlanta. Their first-place wins qualify them for the 2024 FBLA National Leadership Competition & Conference.

TCCHS FBLA Head Adviser Nick Haskin said the competition is fierce at the state level because the chapter competes against others with hundreds of members.

“For those chapters, FBLA is their ‘sport,’ FBLA is their ‘band,’ and they compete as such,” he said. “For Kayla Carr, Dev Patel, and Mann Patel to become state champions in such hard events, I am honored to be their adviser. What made them stand out was their preparedness. They were absolutely ‘locked in.’ There was a calm and confidence that spoke volumes to how prepared they were.”

Dev Patel, 17, and Manthan Patel, 16, brought home first place in the Website Coding and Development category. They designed a job application website for a local restaurant, St. James. The Patels surpassed the requirements: they discussed their plan with the restaurant’s owner and built a full website. 

They had to present a PowerPoint presentation at state, but nothing went as expected. The night before their event, the laptop with their presentation stopped working. The duo had to borrow a laptop and stay up most of the night to make another one.