Former president and CEO of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce, Gary Farlow, center, received the Community First Person of the Year Award in 2019. Also shown, from left, are Cleveland, Tennessee Mayor Emeritus Tom Rowland, Mr. Farlow, and Cleveland State Community College President Dr. Bill Seymour.
The nomination period for the Fifth Annual Community First Awards and Gala will open to the public Monday. Cleveland State Community College will be seeking nominations for the annual tribute to those who have made their lives about serving their communities first. With this fifth annual event, Cleveland State will honor those who have stood out in their work and their lives as leaders in caring for those around them.
Sponsored by SouthEast Bank, the Community First Awards and Gala event will be held March 19, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. in Cleveland State’s L. Quentin Lane Center. Dinner will be served and tickets will be made available for purchase prior to the event.
Nominations will be sought in nine different categories: Arts, Business, Education, Public Service, Volunteer Service, Non-Profit Leadership, Healthcare, Student Leadership, and Philanthropy. Nominations are open to the public. The nomination form is available online at mycs.cc/communityfirstawards through Nov. 15. Winners in each category will be announced prior to the event. The Community First Person of the Year honor will not be unveiled until the night of the gala.
Anyone who lives in Cleveland State’s five-county service area (Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, or Polk County, Tn.) is eligible to receive a Community First Award. For more details on the nomination process, or the event itself, please contact Cindy Dawson with the Cleveland State Foundation at 614-8700 or email her at cdawson@clevelandstatecc.edu.
CSCC is the College System of Tennessee’s College of the Year for 2019. The local institution received the Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition, or SOAR, Award after being named the College of the Year honor during an awards ceremony last March.