Our graduates have been a source of pride for our school since the first class of 64 students graduated in 1972. We welcome and encourage you to stay in touch with the Southland family through our website and by visiting our campus. We hope these pages will help you reconnect with your former classmates in a meaningful way and will be a tool in which you may remain involved with Southland Academy. Our goal is to provide the opportunity for you to connect with friends from the past, and to keep you updated on news from your alma mater. Please take a moment to send us some information about yourself by opening the Raider Spotlight section and entering your information on our guestbook page.

Graduates of Southland Academy can be proud of the excellent education they have received from a school whose reputation for academic excellence, athletic success, and Christian morals precedes our students wherever they go. As our school looks to the future, we hope our alumni will join us in strengthening the bonds of the Southland family.

Southland Academy Alumni Spotlight: Class of 2006 Jimmy Whaley

Jimmy is a 2006 graduate of Southland Academy. After graduation, Jimmy went to
Valdosta State University. After graduating from VSU with a BA in Legal Assistant Studies he went on to get Real Estate Salesperson license and Real Estate Appraisal License. He went right to work selling real estate and in 2019 he opened his own company in Americus called Whaley Realty, Inc. He has been very blessed to have the opportunity to work with 2 agents who are also Southland graduates (Mary Kathryn Davis ‘78 & John Wojnar ‘15) and also his Office Manager is a Southland graduate (Kerry Smith ‘85). While in High School Jimmy was the SGA Class President and he learned many leadership skills that he believes still help him to this day running his own business.

Jimmy has been very involved in the Americus community serving as Chairman of the
Chamber of Commerce (2020), President of the Americus Rotary Club (2018-19), President of the Smarr Smith Foundation (2017-18), President of the Americus Board of Realtors (2016-17), Chairman of the Phoebe Sumter Foundation Board (2024-Pres.), Ignite CCA Board of Directors, and serving on several other committees. Jimmy loves Americus and Sumter County and believes that it is a wonderful place to live and to raise a family. He believes that the love of community started while at Southland because of the family atmosphere that was built there.

Jimmy might not have married a Southland Graduate but it was because a Southland
Graduate that Jimmy met his wife Morgan. Alex Riccardi Turner (‘06) and Jimmy’s wife Morgan played college softball together at Reinhart University and Alex knew that Morgan and Jimmy would hit it off (she was right!) Morgan and Jimmy got married in 2016 and now have two amazing little boys JW (Hopefully 2038 Grad) & Finley (Hopefully 2040 Grad). Morgan works at Georgia Southwestern as a lecturer in the College of Education.

Jimmy believes that Southland helped mold him in many ways but being a cheerleader for our community is vitally important for the success of our small community and it all started while in high school where he won Mr. School Spirit. Teachers like Mrs. Webb, Mrs. Renee R. Moore, Mrs. Jeter pushed him to be the best he could be because they saw something in him, and he will forever be grateful for them believing in him. Southland will always hold a special place in his heart because of the relationships and the lifelong friendships that were built during his 14 years at Southland.