Nineteen graduate from the REACH Academy

At the Fourth Annual REACH Academy Commencement Ceremony on December 16, 19 Haywood High School seniors received their diplomas. Administrators participating in the event were HHS Principal Jerry Pyron, Director of Haywood County Schools Teresa Russell, Director of REACH Academy Drayton Hawkins and REACH Graduation Coach Stephen May. Also participating were Autumn Whitman, Valedictorian of the REACH Academy Senior Class of 2015 and Dannon Eubanks, President of HHS Class of 2015.

Reach graduates web

Members of the graduating class are Marquese Bell, Joel Bond, Tashara Branch, Kayley Burnett, Dylan Cannon, Javonte Jarrett, Damian Johnson, Alexandria Kennamer, Tevin Lewis, Will McRach, Louis Mitchell, McKayla Perez, Hykieem Perry, Ephan Pirtle, Shunquallia Ragland, Houston Rosson, Joshua Sanchez, Keaira Walker and Autumn Whitman. Joshua Sanchez is the REACH Class of 2015 Salutatorian.

Achana Jarrett, Director of the Haywood County Arts Council, presented a musical selection, and the guest speaker was Brian L. Harris, ExpressJet Airlines Captain. He was the first Black Chief Pilot at Atlantic Southeast Airlines, now ExpressJet Airlines, the largest regional airline in the world. In 2013, he became the first Black Base Chief Pilot for the ASA side of ExpressJet Airlines where he was named Base Chief Pilot for the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. In this role, Brian became one of the highest-ranking African Americans in a flight operations department comprised of over 5,000 people. He has the largest base in the company, and is responsible for over 1,500 pilots in Atlanta, Detroit, and Dallas.

REACH Graduation speaker web

Captain Brian L. Harris