Sue Parr, President and CEO of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, has been named as the Augusta Technical College 2021 Commencement Speaker. The announcement was made virtually by college president Dr. Jermaine Whirl on March 25, 2021.

President since 2005, Mrs. Parr oversees the organizational operations and program implementation of the Chamber, serving a member constituency of 1,200 businesses and organizations throughout the Greater Augusta Region, including the bordering counties of Augusta-Richmond, Columbia and Aiken in the states of Georgia and South Carolina. 

Under Mrs. Parr’s leadership, the Chamber has been a central
voice in advocating for local tax policy that will yield over a
billion dollars within the next ten years to fund K-12 education,
transportation, public safety and economic development. She has also been instrumental in developing the strongest partnership to-date between K-12 public education and the business community and in forming Augusta’s first Digital Inclusion Task Force tasked with bridging the digital divide.

Her commencement message to this year's graduates will focus on the region's priority to attract and retain talent and that there are plentiful jobs in the Augusta Region to support the career aspirations of education and training that Augusta Technical College provides. "I am truly honored to address the students and faculty this year with a primary focus on recognizing their achievements and delivering an important message from our business community. In serving employers throughout the region with workforce solutions, Augusta Technical College plays an integral role in the success of our economy and the success of our future workforce."

“Augusta Technical College is honored to have Mrs. Parr serve as this year’s commencement speaker. Sue represents the business community in the CSRA, and she’s the perfect person to not only inform our graduates of our current and future business markets, but she’s also the ideal individual to inspire them to live out their personal and professional dreams within our region as we seek to keep the CSRA globally competitive in talent attraction and retention,” stated college president Dr. Jermaine Whirl.

Reverend Dr. Charles E. Goodman, Jr., Senior Pastor and Teacher of The Historic Tabernacle Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia, will serve as guest pastor and give the invocation and benediction for the ceremony.

The Augusta Technical College 2021 Commencement Ceremony will be streamed virtually via the college’s Facebook page on May 12, 2021, at 6:00pm.