Richard Ricks, Teacher Coach
Mr. Richard Ricks has served as our teacher coach for the past eighteen seasons. This is Mr. Ricks twentieth year of involvement with the Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition and his twenty-eighth year as a homeschooling parent. Over the past thirty years, he has held the positions of President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Information Officer for a variety of organizations. Mr. Ricks currently serves as President of ESL. Mr. Ricks received an MBA with highest honors from Georgia College & State University and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has also completed post-graduate studies at The Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Kellogg Graduate School of Management and The Wharton School. Mr. Ricks and his family attend Forest Hills Church.
Joy Goodman, Teacher Coach
We are honored to have Mrs. Joy Goodman as our teacher coach for the past fourteen seasons. Mrs. Goodman has been involved with the theatre most of her life. She first appeared on stage at the age of five and directed her first show in high school. The last eleven summers, Mrs. Goodman has worked as the director for the Perry Players’ Youth Theatre Workshop where she teaches acting classes to over 100 students culminating in musical theatre performances. For eight years, Mrs. Goodman wrote theatre reviews for The Macon Telegraph. She also wrote a bi-weekly theatre column that appeared in the Warner Robins Daily Sun. In her career, Mrs. Goodman has directed nearly seventy-five stage productions and has been teaching youth for thirty years. Mrs. Goodman and her family attend Ingleside Baptist Church.
Carolyn Goodman, Teacher Coach
We are honored to have Ms. Carolyn Goodman as our teacher coach for the past eight seasons. Carolyn Goodman is a magna cum laude Computer Science graduate from Middle Georgia State University. Continuing her education in pursuing an additional English Degree, she has had the honor of her research and artistic works being published in academic journals. Carolyn has nine years of experience in Mock Trial, both in the roles of participant and coach. Over her four year tenure on the team, she competed in four Regional competitions, three District competitions, three State competitions, and one National competition in the GA Bar Mock Trial Competition and National High School Mock Trial Championship in addition to one International invitational competition organized by Empire Mock Trial. During these many competition rounds, Carolyn was awarded three Outstanding Witness Awards, thirteen Outstanding Attorney Awards, and was awarded the Walker P. Johnson Award for Mock Trial litigation excellence by the Macon Bar Association. Now a coach for MGCHSA, Carolyn uses her competition, coaching, and academic experience to guide students to pursue and achieve excellence in their own competition performances and lives.
Frank Gaddy, Attorney Coach
Frank Gaddy joined our program two years ago as our team’s primary attorney coach. Frank Gaddy is an associate with Martin Snow. Frank is a litigator with trial experience in various areas of law including family law, corporate representation, criminal defense, probate law and complex civil litigation, such as construction litigation, contractual disputes, and motor vehicle collisions. In addition to his trial practice, Frank also engages in the general representation of businesses and creditors.
Frank devotes a significant portion of his practice to family law. He has advocated across the State of Georgia on behalf of families dealing with divorce, child custody, alimony, child support and other related matters. In utilizing his knowledge of civil procedure, litigation, and corporate representation he is able to uniquely address the several different complexities that can arise during the course of family law litigation.
He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from Kennesaw State University where he was named to the list of Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges. Frank received his Juris Doctor from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. Frank is a member of the Macon Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the William Augustus Bootle American Inn of Court, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the State Bar of Georgia Leadership Academy Class of 2023. Frank also serves as an adjunct professor at Mercer University School of Law in their Advanced Writing Certificate Program.
Pete Allen, Attorney Coach, Emeritus
Our team has been very fortunate to have Mr. Peter Allen as our attorney coach from the inception of our program eighteen years ago. Mr. Allen now serves in an advisory capacity. A partner in the litigation section at Martin Snow, Mr. Allen pursues a general practice touching upon several different areas of law. . Mr. Allen is a 1991 graduate of the University of Georgia, obtaining at that time a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and earning the two-fold academic distinction of graduating summa cum laude and as a First Honor Graduate. He continued his studies at the University in Athens and earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1996 and his Master of Arts in History in 1998, the latter coming after he began full-time employment with the firm.
