Swanson Richards, 1981 Steve and Mary Petlitz, 1982 Floyd Rees, 1983 Bobby Galyean, 1984 Jack Zonneveld, 1985 Barbara Summerlin, 1986 Tanya Jones and Zack Blackmon, 1987 David Pruett, 1988 Thurman Watts, 1989 Ruth Minick ġ990 Richard Vaughn, 1991 Howard Woltz Jr., 1992 Ann Vaughn, 1993 Jim Andrews, 1994 Teresa Lewis, 1995 John Springthorpe III, 1996 Gene Rees, 1997 Burke Robertson, 1998 Susan Ashby, 1999 Jack Greenwood, 2000 Dr. Johnson, 1974 Jerry Beverly ġ975 Stan Rogge, 1976 Bill Breedlove, 1977 Don Nance, 1978 Larry Wright, 1979 George Summerlin, 1980 Dr. James Powell, 1970 Jim Grimes, 1971 Frank Smith, 1972 C.B. Winners since then include: 1963 Archie Carter, 1964 John E. The first winner, in 1962, was Joe Johnson Sr. He was co-founder of Smith-Rowe, LLC and former Mayor of Mount Airy. In 2020, David Rowe, who has since passed away, was named the award winner.
The winner is named during the chamber’s annual meeting in January, and Collins said officials try to keep it a secret until the announcement. We don’t put any parameters on that, we accept all nominations.” While there are no specific criteria for nominees, the award has “Generally been for a lifetime of work…These are people who have spent a lifetime serving their community in some way, or certainly for a long period to time.
We want to encourage people to nominate someone in the community that you feel is way overdue for recognition.” And, there’s many people who should be nominated who never are. “The difficult part on this…there are so many people who are deserving, it’s difficult every year to choose. Once the nomination deadline passes, he said a committee will review every submission and choose one winner. So far, he said three or four have been submitted. He said the winner does not have to be a chamber member, but they are looking for someone from Mount Airy, Surry County, or from the towns in Surry - Pilot Mountain, Dobson, and Elkin.Ĭollins said generally the chamber gets eight to ten nominations every year, although some years there are more. But there are a lot of unsung heroes over the years, that not everyone knows their story.” A lot of people who have gotten the award over the years, you just mention their name and you know what they’ve done. “We really rely on these nominations to tell us the story. “Tell us their story,” he advised of what to include. If a person wishes to make a nomination and cannot do so electronically, he said it is fine for the nominator to hand-deliver or mail a typed or written nomination. “The chamber was founded in 1959, they have presented one every year for nearly 60-some years.”Ĭollins said the award is meant to recognize an individual who “has done a lot to serve their community, on a lot of different levels.” He said, given that it is a chamber award, the recipient has generally been someone active in the business community, but he said the recognition is really about “overall service to the community…perhaps someone who has gone overlooked.”įor those wishing to nominate someone, Collins said the nomination form can be found online at. “The first one was given in 1962,” said Randy Collins, executive director of the chamber. December 8 is the final day area residents can nominate a person for the recognition. It is the chamber’s Citizen of the Year Award, and the deadline to nominate folks for consideration this year is fast approaching. Certainly the highest individual honor given by the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, and one that has a history dating back nearly six decades. It is one of the best-known, and most respected, honors in the area. The Ruritans hold fundraising activities during the year which allow them to support such community causes.Ī new member of the Ararat Ruritan Club, Ray Smith, also was welcomed during the recent meeting.Ĭhamber seeks Citizen of Year nominations Representatives of those organizations were special guests of the recent meeting that featured a covered-dish supper in addition to the presentation of checks. Included were the Patrick County Food Bank, a county Rotary Club backpack program and a Home Alone effort that serves residents in the Willis Gap and Ararat communities. The money will aid the missions of several groups making a difference in the lives of community residents in need, according to information from Mary Dellenback Hill of the Ruritans’ board of directors.
This involves monetary donations made by members of the Ararat Ruritan Club during a meeting earlier this month in the clubhouse at 4711 Ararat Highway. Christmas has yet to arrive, but community organizations in Patrick County have received some early presents.
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