Mickey Blevins (center) and his wife Kelly (right) with the Mountain Faith Band.
Debbie Thompson, CFO, Sweetwater Hospital, accepts the Community First Award for Healthcare on Scott Bowman’s behalf
Dr. Bill Seymour presents Brenda Hughes with the Community First Person of the Year Award at Thursday’s gala
Fun was had by all at Cleveland State’s inaugural Community First Awards Gala Thursday night. The event, presented by CSCC and sponsored by First Tennessee Bank, honored people for their contributions to the community, in nine categories ranging from Healthcare to Philanthropy. Ten people were chosen as the category-level award winners, and one Community First Person of the Year was awarded. The event featured dinner and a concert from the Mountain Faith Band, a music group that gained popularity on the nationally televised competition, “America’s Got Talent.”
“This event was envisioned when we developed our 2020 Community First strategic plan,” stated Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC President. “This is our new annual signature event—one that celebrates our favorite theme, one that recognizes those across our five-county service area who share our value of always putting the community first and one that celebrates the successful conclusion of the Cleveland State Annual Campaign.”
The Community First Awards Committee received 64 nominations seeking to honor individuals based on their extraordinary commitment of time, talent or treasure to the community.
Dr. Seymour stated, “Such a strong response tells me that our theme of ‘Community First’ strikes a meaningful chord with many who share this value.”
The categories and winners are as follows:
? Arts:
Mary Kennedy Hendershot
Executive Director, Monroe Area Council for the Arts (MACA) Madisonville, TN
? Business:
J. Lee Stewart
CEO, Southern Heritage Bank, Cleveland, TN
? Education:
Mickey Blevins
Director, McMinn County Schools, Athens, TN
? Healthcare:
Scott Bowman
Administrator, Sweetwater Hospital, Sweetwater, TN
? Non-Profit Leadership:
Brenda Hughes
Founder, Family Cornerstones, Cleveland, TN
? Philanthropy:
Bob Card
Founder, Bob and Susan Card Charitable Foundation, Cleveland, TN
? Public Service:
George Poe
Vice Mayor, Cleveland, TN
? Student Leadership:
Wendy Armenta
Student, Bradley Central High School / Boys and Girls Club, Cleveland, TN
? Volunteer Service:
Donald Lorton
Retired, Maytag Corporation President, Cleveland, TN
? Nancy Casson
Owner, The Red Ribbon
Cleveland, TN
Dr. Seymour said, “This inaugural class of Community First Award honorees is very impressive. Each one truly exemplifies the ideal of putting community first before self.”
One of the main highlights of the evening was the unveiling of the college’s latest video, Reflections, a short piece that illustrates how CSCC has impacted the community for the past 50 years. The video can be viewed on Youtube at https://youtu.be/uSDMRA2tpLs.
“As we look back at our first 50 years, we can proudly say that we have impacted over a quarter million lives in this region through credit and non-credit educational programs—not to mention all the events and activities where friends and neighbors enjoy our campus,” stated Dr. Seymour. “We believe that a good education leads to better careers, and better careers build stronger families, and stronger families build greater communities. And Cleveland State is the only college in our region who has a mission of giving absolutely everyone an opportunity for this better life.”
The Community First Awards Gala was sponsored by First Tennessee Bank. CSCC recognized them for their contribution for the event with a framed memento of the evening with Community President Mike Griffin accepting on behalf of First Tennessee. Dr. Tommy Wright, vice president for Institutional Advancement, said, “As you know, strong prosperous relationships require commitment from everyone involved. We would like to thank our premier sponsor for this event—First Tennessee Bank, for their support in helping make this event possible. The Community First Awards Gala was actually our second sponsorship by First Tennessee; they also sponsored our Alumni and Friends event in November. We are proud to have First Tennessee as our banking agent, and it is evident they know how to put “community first.”
The conclusion of the awards ceremony was the presentation of the Community First Person of the Year award which went to Brenda Hughes. Ms. Hughes earned her GED at Cleveland State Community College and later entered Eastern University in St. David’s, Pennsylvania where she graduated with honors in a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in economic development and later earned a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Upon graduation, she went to Chicago for additional training at the Center for New Community. She then returned to Cleveland and founded the Bradley Initiative for Church and Community in 1998. The organizational model of engaging many people from across the community has been a major contributing factor to the success of the organization. In 2014, the organization’s name was changed to Family Cornerstones, Inc. Her sense of call and passion for the community, in particular families, children and youth, has been her driving force. Ms. Hughes has three daughters, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.