General Mills and James Woodard, president of the Newton College and Career Academu, were among the winners honored at Georgia Piedmont Technical College's third annual Investing in Dreams gala.

Nearly 300 people attended the fundraising event, which supports the Georgia Piedmont Technical College Foundation; the college serves DeKalb, Rockdale, Newton and Morgan counties.

At a black-tie gala at Georgia Piedmont Technical College Conference Center (GPTC - Formerly DeKalb Technical College) Saturday night six recipients of the 2012 Investing in Dreams Gala were unveiled. Other awards given included the "William Hawes Lifetime Achievement Award", the "President's Award", and the "Chairman's Award".

Organizations or individuals were nominated based on their support of education and sustainability. The theme of this year's gala was "Come to the Emerald City, where dreams come true." A total of 24 individuals or businesses were nominated. Four businesses and two individuals were given the award, including: Rema Tip Top from Morgan County, General Mills, Golden State Foods from Rockdale County and MARTA from DeKalb County. Individual honorees were James Woodard, with the Newton College and Career Academy, and DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon.

Other organizations that were nominated for awards were: Georgia Power, Dixie Industrial Finishing Company, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Oglethorpe Power, Trojan Battery, Dart Container, Solo Cup Company, Bio Lab, A Chemtura Company, Pratt Industries, Madison-Morgan Conservancy, Flambeau, Inc. and Anthony International.

Other individual nominees included: DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas E. Brown, Nick Goebeler with Chick-Fil-A, Roger House with Axiom Corporation, DeKalb County Commissioner Sharon Barnes-Sutton, LeRoy Tanker with Freedom Financial Services and Lu Arthur Woodson with Alpha Climate Control.

The Investing in Dreams Gala was the culmination of the college's 50th anniversary celebration.

"We are excited about celebrating our college's 50th anniversary at the gala. We are also excited to have the support of the Atlanta Regional Commission's Executive Director, Doug Hooker, as our Honorary Chair, as well as the Chambers of Commerce in DeKalb, Rockdale, Newton and Morgan counties as our event co-chairs," said Cynthia Dorsey Edwards, executive director of the GPTC Foundation.

Michelle Bryant-Johnson, president of the Covington-Newton Chamber, was the local event co-chair.

The Georgia Piedmont Technical College Foundation, a 25-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, assists in raising funds and securing resources to support the College's strategic initiatives and is managed through a volunteer board of trustees.

Georgia Piedmont Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, promotes a student-centered environment for lifelong learning and development, encompassing academic and technical education for employment in a global community.

The college has nine centers of learning in DeKalb, Newton, Rockdale and Morgan counties. Georgia Piedmont Technical College currently has more than 5,000 students enrolled in diploma or degree programs and more than 9,000 in adult education classes. Academic and technical programs at Georgia Piedmont Tech cover more than 120 different occupations. For more information, visit www.GPTC.edu.