VGCC Graduates 15 Law Enforcement Cadets in School’s 88th BLET Class
Fifteen cadets graduated Dec. 16 from the Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) course at Vance-Granville Community College in a ceremony held in the Civic Center on Main Campus. After passing the state certification exam, all 15 are authorized to work in any law enforcement agency in North Carolina.
Graduates of VGCC’s 88th BLET class included Jeffery Shannon Bell and Antoine Martel Eaton, both of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office; Tabitha Dawn Glasscock and Holden Lee Wilkins, both of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office; Jarid Adam Church of N.C. Parks & Recreation (Kerr Lake); Brandon Scott Logue of Henderson Police Department; Joshua Ryan Taylor of Butner Public Safety; Kenneth Ray Wood of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office; Daniel John Bucklin, Jeffery Rufus Garrett, Jr., Chase William Jones, Ryan Peter Lounsberry, Philip Ray Lowery, John Lewis Tracz and Graham Atlas Woodlief.
Tony Pendergrass, the VGCC coordinator of law enforcement training, praised the class for completing 624 hours of grueling training over 16 weeks. Pendergrass also thanked the 45 instructors who helped train the class, the local sheriffs, chiefs of police and administrators who support the program, and the families and friends who supported and encouraged the students.
BLET students chose one of their instructors, Sgt. Matthew Nies of the Henderson Police Department, to be their guest speaker for the graduation ceremony. The students had grown and changed over the course of the program, Nies said, “but from the beginning, they all shared a desire to serve something greater than themselves.” He emphasized the importance of ethics in the profession and encouraged all graduates to have a “personal sense of honor.” Cadet Jarid Church spoke on behalf of his fellow graduates, thanking all their instructors and praising the friendships the students had developed.
Nies and Greg Hughes, a VGCC law enforcement/corrections instructor, presented certificates to the graduates. Pendergrass handed out awards to the top students in the class in three categories. Garrett won the “Top Gun” Award for having the highest accuracy score in weapons firing. Taylor took the Physical Training Award for scoring highest in the various fitness tests the cadets undergo. Church was presented with the Academic Achievement Award for having the top grade average in the 35 written tests each cadet must take and pass. For more information on the BLET program , contact Tony Pendergrass .
Above: Graduates of Vance-Granville Community College’s Basic Law Enforcement Training Class 88, included, front row, from left, Jeffery Shannon Bell (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office), Daniel John Bucklin, Jarid Adam Church (N.C. Parks & Recreation – Kerr Lake), Antoine Martel Eaton (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office) and Jeffery Rufus Garrett, Jr.; middle row, from left, Tabitha Dawn Glasscock (Granville County Sheriff’s Office), Chase William Jones, Brandon Scott Logue (Henderson Police Department), Ryan Peter Lounsberry and Philip Ray Lowery; back row, from left, Joshua Ryan Taylor (Butner Public Safety), John Lewis Tracz, Holden Lee Wilkins (Granville County Sheriff’s Office), Kenneth Ray Wood (Vance County Sheriff’s Office) and Graham Atlas Woodlief, with law enforcement training coordinator Tony Pendergrass. (VGCC Photo)
