Friends, family and the community gathered in the Conference Center at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) Gordon County Campus in Calhoun on May 2 to honor 13 students graduating from Basic Law Enforcement Training Class #BL11-2025-01.

The Basic Law Enforcement (BLE) program is designed to train and prepare graduates for employment as entry-level Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) certified law enforcement officers.

“That badge isn’t just a symbol; it’s a promise,” said Whitfield County Sheriff Darren J. Pierce, guest speaker at the ceremony. “It represents the trust the public places in you to protect, to serve, to act justly and to stand in the gap when others cannot or will not.”

“When you wear that badge, you are telling the world you have chosen a life not of comfort, but of conviction,” Pierce said. “You’ve accepted a sacred duty—one that demands courage, integrity, humility and compassion every single day. The badge that you wear is earned; it is not given.”

Zachary Taylor served as the student speaker for the ceremony.

Emalee Weaver was presented with the Academic (Honor Graduate) Award for having the highest grade point average; she also received the “Top Gun” award for excellence in marksmanship.

“Five students at some point during practice or qualification shot perfect scores. We’ve never had that many students score that many perfect scores,” Pledger said. Weaver “shot a total of seven perfect scores, three times during practice and four times during qualification, and that was with all of the weapons that we issued.”

Weaver broke her left thumb before the class started basic firearms training, so she shot the perfect scores with a bandaged thumb. In recognition of this accomplishment, Pledger humorously presented her with the “Throbbing Thumb Award.”

Graduates recited their Oath of Honor at the conclusion of the ceremony, vowing “On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the Constitution, my community and the agency I serve.”

Graduates of Basic Law Enforcement Training Class #BL11-2025-01 are Jamal Bragg, Isaac Casey, Greg Gregory, Kevin Lively, Joshua McClure, Justin Middlebrooks, Ethan Patino, Wesley Stewart, Zachary Taylor, Scott Thompson, Emalee Weaver, James Williams and Tucker Wilson.

Casey and Stewart are employed by the Murray County Sheriff’s Office. 

Bragg, McClure, Taylor, Thompson and Wilson are employed by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office; Lively, Middlebrooks, Weaver and Williams are employed by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office.

Gregory and Patino are preservice.