Georgia State Patrol Post 12 recognized as Post of the Year
Published 4:06 pm Monday, March 28, 2022
- Payton Fletcher/Times-EnterpriseSgt. 1st Class John VanLandingham, post commander of GSP Thomasville Post 12, and Sgt. Meed Kelley, assistant post commander, stand beside a Georgia State Patrol vehicle.
THOMASVILLE — The local Georgia State Patrol Troop of Thomasville Post 12 was recently awarded Post of the Year during the Georgia State Patrol 85th Anniversary Awards Ceremony, with one of Post 12’s troopers being recognized as Trooper of the Year.
According to Sgt. 1st Class John VanLandingham, Thomasville Post 12 GSP commander, the post was chosen from the 52 patrol posts stationed across Georgia.
Thomasville Post 12’s 2021 record included 575 arrests of DUI motorists, 601 investigations into vehicles crashes involving 34 fatalities, 15,278 conducted traffic stops, 12,799 issued traffic warnings and 6,190 traffic citations.
VanLandingham said that this achievement was only possible because of the quality of the troopers of Post 12 Thomasville.
“It’s not me, it’s the troopers,” he said, “I just point them in the right direction.”
This award marks the first time that Thomasville Post 12 has been recognized for Post of the Year.
VanLandingham made it clear that he was proud of all the effort that went into making the achievement possible and the mental fortitude it takes to deal with the day-to-day responsibilities of a trooper.
“I’m really proud of the troopers here and the secretary,” he said, “We have a great team.”
He said that his post has made great strides in connecting with local counties, engaging in school educational events and putting an emphasis on community events, such as those organized by Faith and Blue and the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Trooper First Class 2 Steven Kornegay was nominated and recognized as Trooper of the Year for his achievements, which included 110 arrests of DUI motorists. He said that he was just one of the many great troopers of Post 12 Thomasville.
“We gotta bunch of guys in Thomasville that are exceptional,” Kornegay said, “It’s definitely a team effort down there.”
Kornegay graduated from Trooper School in 2015, originally working at Post 13 Tifton and later working with the Criminal Interdiction Unit in Atlanta. In 2019, he came to Post 12 Thomasville.
Georgia State Patrol Post 12 Thomasville covers Grady, Thomas, Colquitt and Mitchell counties.
Payton Fletcher can be reached at 229-226-2400, ext. 1826
