Dr. Fred and Ruth ObearDr. Fred and Ruth Obear have been named 2014 Distinguished Service Award winners by the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga for outstanding community leadership.
The award will be formally presented to them jointly on Feb. 10 at the Read House’s Silver Ball Room.
The Distinguished Service Award has been presented annually since 1922. The award is given in recognition of an individual’s outstanding leadership and service to the community. In its 92-year history, this is the ninth occasion when this honor was awarded jointly.
Dr. Obear served as chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1981 through 1997 and again as interim chancellor in 2004.
His wife stepped into the role of the university’s first lady, organizing events and entertaining thousands of people, ranging from university students and faculty to members of the University of Chattanooga Foundation and UT trustees.
Together, the couple has five children and 10 grandchildren.