The City of Clarksville awarded five Clarksville residents and community volunteers with Citizen of the Year Awards on Friday, November 14th during a Volunteer Recognition Ceremony held at First Baptist Church .
The Citizen of the Year Awards are presented based on the recipients’ volunteer service to the City of Clarksville and the community as a whole. Each recipient represents the excellence of service of over 300 city volunteers and their outstanding commitment to making this a better community.
This year’s Citizen of the Year recipients are Lee Erwin, Christy Batts, James Halford, Kevin Kennedy, and Charlie Koon. See below for bios of each recipient and a description of their service to our community.
Lee Erwin
Lee Erwin’s career in radio has spanned 34 years, having spent 29 years at the local radio stations of the 5 Star Radio Group. Over the years he has received awards of recognition from the March of Dimes, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Clarksville Jaycees and Clarksville’s Mayor’s Office just to name a few.
He has served the community on a number of boards and committees which include the Chamber of Commerce, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, United Way , American Red Cross, Clarksville Riverfest Committee, American Cancer Society, Leadership Clarksville, and the Citizen’s Police Academy .
He has also actively participated in many projects, to include Rivers & Spires, Christmas on the Cumberland , Best of Clarksville, Clarksville Warrior Week, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake.
His enthusiasm is evident and he hardly misses an opportunity to volunteer his time to better the City of Clarksville .
Christy Batts
Christy Batts is not only a recognized leader in the telecommunications industry, but she has also been a very active member of the Clarksville community over the years.
Mrs. Batts currently serves as Capital Campaign Chair for the Salvation Army, President Elect of Clarksville Sunrise Rotary Club and as a board member for Leadership Middle Tennessee. She has been a committee member of Go Red for Women for three years. She was a founding member of the Network, an organization for professional business women and served as Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce. She was recently named the Vice-president of Telecommunications for the Department of Electricity and just last week was chosen as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Athena Award.
James Halford
James Halford has devoted much of his life and his time to making our country and our community a better place. He has worked for the federal government for over 34 years and is a seasoned analyst, consultant and seminar facilitator. Mr. Halford is currently the Director of Strategic Planning at Fort Campbell .
Even with such a busy work schedule and many responsibilities, he finds time to give back to his community by serving on many boards and committees. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Clarksville Housing Authority, is on the Board of Advisors for the Matthew Walker Health Clinic, and is an advisor to the Lincoln Homes Residents Council just to name a few. He is also a very active member of Fifth Ward Baptist Church .
Mr. Halford worked for several years to help establish the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan and acted as a liaison between the City and several of the affected neighborhoods to ensure their needs were addressed.
Kevin Kennedy
Kevin Kennedy is no stranger to this community. He has called Clarksville home his entire life and has worked actively in many organizations. He has also generously given his time, talent, finances, and manpower to many projects in town.
He is active in many civic organizations to include Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boy Scouts of America, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, YMCA, Hope Pregnancy Center , and Clarksville Little League.
He has supported educational activities in our community and contributed to many such as Austin Peay State University Governors Club, Montgomery County Teen Court , Austin Peay State University Foundation, and Court of Creativity.
He is a member of the Cumberland Baptist Association and a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church . He never says “no” when asked to help with a worthwhile cause. Because of his efforts, he has received awards from organizations such as the Clarksville Jaycees, Clarksville Montgomery County School Board, City of Clarksville , and the Downtown District Partnership.
Charlie Koon
Charlie Koon has worked for several years with the Riverfest Entertainment Committee to provide musical acts at the annual celebration. He is a member of the Downtown Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce, and a graduate of Leadership Clarksville. In addition to his regular duties as Marketing Manager for Cumberland Bank and Truest, Mr. Koon also serves on the Rivers and Spires Organizing Committee, as well as on the finance committee at Hilldale Baptist Church .
While he prefers to be modest and stay behind the scenes, his dedication and desire for perfection have helped make many of this community’s events possible.
