of RESA in 2000, and then as the director in 2007. Shelly retired from
RESA in 2012 and began working at SECCA the following year.
When I’d asked to meet with Shelly Smith for a potential story for
our magazine, both she and her husband assumed it was for a story
on SECCA (Southeastern Early College and Career Academy), a work
that both have given so much of their time and effort for the youth in
our community. I had a little explaining to do. I’d only heard bits and
pieces of Shelly’s father’s story, but I was convinced that the story of her
education began long before she was born.
I was right.
As I turned off my recorder and put down my pen, I felt I understood
why the CEO of SECCA has given her entire life to educating and
equipping our children for success in the workplace. The legacy of her
father’s life was not only in the value he placed on education, but in the
work ethic he demonstrated. And just as importantly, in his willingness
to help those who had rejected him on the basis of his ethnicity. When
George Saba knelt beside his daughter’s bed each night and spoke those
simple words, the gratitude he conveyed in his thanks to God taught her
more than a million sermons ever could.
120 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE
"SECCA is a charter school/regional
career academy for high school
students, and an educational
partnership among four Georgia
school systems (Montgomery County
Schools, Toombs County Schools,
Treutlen County Schools, and Vidalia
City Schools) and Southeastern
Technical College (STC)” (www.
seccaweb.org). Shelly Smith has
been the CEO of Southeastern
Early College and Career Academy
(SECCA) since 2013. Dr. Tim Smith,
one of four area superintendents
who established SECCA in 2008,
continues to serve as an advisor to
the board.
With a current enrollment of 433
students, this year SECCA added a
new energy pathway, which has a
current enrollment of 95 students.
On completion, these students
will go to the top of the list for
interviews with Georgia Power. If
hired, they will be eligible for just six
weeks of training for a position of
lineman at $50,000 a year.
Shelly with her husband Tim at
SECCA's auto shop where students
learn about and gain experience for
different trade careers.
S E C C A
/seccaweb.org