The Hixson Kiwanis Club is launching the Howard Sompayrac Distinguished Service Award. Local citizens are encouraged to submit the name of someone that has contributed significantly to the Hixson community.
Hixson Kiwanis Club president Geoff Holden is asking Hixson residents to nominate someone who has contributed to the Hixson community for the Howard Sompayrac Distinguished Service Award."We have not presented the Distinguished Service Award for 10 years," said club president Geoff Holden. "We want to present it again in Howard Sompayrac's honor. Howard was a member of the Hixson community who served in the Hixson Kiwanis Club for 30 years. He was our past president and program chair for 20 years. He brought in congressmen and candidates as speakers. He was involved in everything that went on in Hixson."
Holden said the recipient of the award can be a business person, educator, politician or resident. The recipient does not have to be a Hixson resident to be nominated, but he or she will be chosen and honored based on their community service work in Hixson.
Nominations need to be submitted before the end of March, so that the family of the recipient can be notified in advance. The award will be presented April 17 at 6:15 p.m. inside the Hixson United Methodist Church Youth Annex.
The presentation will take place in conjunction with the 65th anniversary of the Hixson Kiwanis Club.
The one-page nomination can be mailed or emailed in the form of a written essay or called in with a verbal explanation.
Holden can be reached for nominations or more information by calling 710-3933 or by emailing geoff@mclainfoods.com. Mailed nominations should be sent to P.O. Box 36, Hixson, TN 37343.
The Hixson Kiwanis Club meets the first and third Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. inside the Hixson UMC Youth Annex. The building formerly housed the Hixson Masonic Hall on Old Hixson Pike.
The Kiwanis Club motto is "We serve."
"The Hixson Kiwanis Club's main focus is on children," said Holden. "We always support our local schools. We were instrumental in building Vandergriff Park in 1998 and in building the handicapped accessible playground behind it."