The Perry County Chamber of Commerce began the Community Recognition Awards in 2011 to be a feature in our Chambers Annual Banquet. The awards serve to honor and recognize the people, organizations and businesses that make Perry County such a wonderful place to live. The awards included Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Educator of the Year, Public Servant of the Year, Student of the Year, Student Athlete of the Year and The Star of Excellence for Business or Organization. Since then, we have split the Star of Excellence into two separate awards; one for Business and one for Organization. We also began honoring the Perry County Veteran of the Year, as chosen by the Perry County Veterans, in 2014.
Our past winners are as follows:
Man of the Year, Mr. Bill Bates
Woman of the Year, Mrs Betty Barber
Volunteer of the Year, Mrs Sue Holder
Public Servant of the Year, Sheriff Tommy Hickerson
Educator of the Year, Mrs Donna Young
Star of Excellence, Buffalo River Longbeards NWTF
Student of the Year, Mr Derek Watkins
Student Athlete of the Year, Mr Jacob Tucker
2012 Community Recognition Awards
Man of the Year, Mr. Phillip Tatum
Woman of the Year, Mrs Sue Franks
Volunteer of the Year, Mrs Jessie Ruth Tiller
Public Servant of the Year, Mayor Robby Moore
Educator of the Year, Mrs Mikki Williams
Star of Excellence, Ayers Foundation
Student of the Year, Ms Jenna Bailey
Student Athlete of the Year, Ms Dedra Irwin
Man of the Year, Mr. David Richardson
Woman of the Year, Mrs Martha Mitchener
Volunteer of the Year, Mr Barry Arnold
Public Servant of the Year, Chief Deputy Nick Weems
Educator of the Year, Mrs Cindy Hale
Star of Excellence, Sonic Drive In
Student of the Year, Ms Sarah King
Student Athlete of the Year, Ms Hope Rogers
2014 Community Recognition Awards
Man of the Year, Mr. David Young
Woman of the Year, Mrs Paula Salhany
Volunteer of the Year, Mr Jarrod Richardson
Public Servant of the Year, Mayor John Carroll
Educator of the Year, Mrs Nicky Litle
Star of Excellence for Business, First Bank
Star of Excellence for Organization, TWRA
Student of the Year, Mr Luke Cagle
Student Athlete of the Year, Mr Garrett Daniel