Mississippi Delta Community College (MDCC) held its fall Law Enforcement Training Academy (LETA) Commencement on Thursday, Oct. 8, in the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Moorhead campus.

The cadets came from departments all across North Mississippi and will return to their local communities to serve. Panola County had one graduate in this session of the academy – Deputy Clyde Gill of the Sheriff’s Office. He is second from left in the second row of the class photo above.

During the ceremony, the 34 cadets of Class 20-B66 became full-fledged law enforcement officers. Tim Presley was the training coordinator for the class who put a heavy emphasis on physical training (PT).

“This was Tim Presley’s first class, and he did an excellent job,” said Amy Vanderford, director of MDCC’s LETA program. “He brought in hard work. He PT’d with them every day, twice a day. He did a fantastic job.”

As someone who focuses on physical fitness, Presley touted during the ceremony that the total weight loss for Class 20-B66 was 450 lbs. and 157 inches around the waist.

“They knew every week that it would be posted. It was all about accountability, and the cadets stepped up to the plate and held themselves accountable,” Presley said proudly. “They knew that the competition was with themselves to get better every day and every week.”

The MDCC Law Enforcement Training Academy is a Class I State Accredited Academy by the Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officers’ Standards and Training and offers all levels of training to law enforcement personnel throughout the Delta Region and the State of Mississippi. The MDCC LETA provides areas of training for basic, refresher, part-time, corrections officer, in-service and advanced training on the MDCC main campus located on Highway 3, in Moorhead.