One citizen had the honor of accepting two awards on Saturday night during the Pilot Point Chamber of Commerce’s Awards Banquet.
Lisa Cave, last year’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year, passed the torch to Cindy Faris, who is also site manager of Meals on Wheels for Pilot Point, this year’s Non Profit Business of the Year.
“This person embraces all things Pilot Point and strives to connect people to each other in the hopes of having a positive impact on her community,” Cave said. “While she does serious work, she does not take herself too seriously, using her sense of humor to lighten dark situations and finding joy in her everyday interactions.”
Faris, who volunteers at the Garage Door Theater, Pilot Point Senior Center and can be found at most community events including city council meetings, was quick to share that her work in the community is all outward facing.
“It means I’m giving encouragement to other people to do the good work and do what’s necessary to help the city and citizens be better, be positive, keep going and support one another,” Faris said.
While accepting the award for Meals on Wheels, she similarly redirected the praise.
“I couldn’t do it without my drivers,” Faris said. “That’s why I wanted to honor them. It takes a lot of people to run an organization like that, and to have so many wonderful volunteers is important. When it comes to seniors, because I am a senior, it means so much when we have so many who are willing to help out.”
Saturday additionally saw the return of an older award originally instated in 2003, the Goodwill Ambassador Award.
“First given to Coach G.A. Moore in recognition of his accomplishment of becoming the state’s all-time winningest high school football coach, this award can be presented to individuals or organizations who make a far-reaching, positive impact on the community of Pilot Point and its reputation,” Chamber President Jimerson Adkins said.
Susan and Chad Chance, known for their work through the Friends of Vail, a nonprofi t they founded after their daughter passed away, became the first recipients of the reinstated award.
“The impact is immeasurable that these two have had not only on the lives of the students who have received scholarships from their nonprofit in the education and equine worlds but also in their willingness to help other families navigate grief in the face of painful losses,” Adkins said.
Chad shared he had not been expecting the award.
“It was a total surprise but means a lot,” Chad said. “It’s a short list of well deserving people, and it’s humbling to know that our community thinks of us in the same capacity as the previous winners.”
Susan explained their willingness to give back stems from their daughters.
“We’re so proud to be a part of Pilot Point,” Susan said. “That was Vail and Jade’s school, and it’s our community and it just means the world to us.”
Faris and the Chances were joined by two more offi cial community servants in the form of Police Officer and Fire Fighter of the Year as presented by Lake Ray Roberts Rotary Club President Whitney Delcourt.
“The Pilot Point Police Department has this as its core mission: ‘Our fundamental duty is to serve,’” Delcourt said. “This officer exemplifies that creed.”
Officer Andrew Biggs was praised for his commitment to continuing education both for himself, his community and his department.
“He also takes continuing education seriously, working to fine-tune the department’s training program to help ‘maintain the highest level of professionalism and readiness,’” Delcourt said. “To that end, this officer helped create and start the department’s mini police academy to help new hires understand the policies and culture of the Pilot Point [Police] Department, which [Lt. Preston] Green said has ‘greatly enhanced the training and preparedness of our newest officers.’” Biggs said education for officers even after arriving at Pilot Point and graduating from the academy is simply “what the community expects.”
“As we continue to grow as an organization and city, we have to stay on top of training people and make sure we’re up to date,” Biggs said. “It’s really helpful to have that extra time to spend with people and show them the right way of doing things.”
Another public servant focused on continued training, Fire Marshal Adam Smith, was named Fire Fighter of the Year.
“This man’s dedication to protecting human life and fighting fires extends beyond Pilot Point’s borders, as he has served in deployments around the state through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, commonly called TIFMAS,” Delcourt said. “In fact, this firefighter has been serving with Cpt. Rimling to help ensure the fires in [Abilene] are under control just this week. That is why he was unable to attend tonight.”
Chief Heath Hudson accepted the award on Smith’s behalf.
“Adam came in here and hit the floor running, decided early on he loved the fire marshal aspect of it and the prevention side, so we put him in the training and let him obtain that,” Hudson said. “Having someone within our ranks coming through that, he’s on the ground level, ready to go, and is a great asset to us.”
The final awards on the roster were for Business and New Business of the Year, going to Martin General Store and Yearby’s Barbecue and Waterice, respectively.
“This business and its owner work to support the community in real ways throughout the year, from gathering food for Lovepacs donations to serving as a drop-off location for Toys for Tots, as well as helping inspire events that benefit other local small businesses and working with other entrepreneurs as well as the Chamber to make those events come to life,” Adkins said of Martin General Store.
Dubbed “The Mama Bear of the Square” during Adkins’ speech, owner Allison Martin teared up as she accepted her award.
“I’m still kind of shocked really, when they said Mama Bear, that’s when it really gave it away,” Martin said. “I got a little tearful, too. It’s amazing and feels good.”
Martin said she intends to continue developing events for herself and the other businesses on the Square because “we need extra business, so whatever we can do to get it, we have to.”
The new barbecue spot in town, serves their take on a Texas staple with their own cultural twist not only to the community but across the state.
“These business owners pour love into their work, serving up award-winning dishes and a friendly welcome,” Adkins said. “In addition to their regular work, these business owners take their food on the road, competing with some of the best in the business.”
C.J. Henley spoke for he and his partner Sabrina Henley after receiving the award.
“It’s an honor,” C.J. said. “We chose Pilot Point for the fact it’s a nice small town and came here with intentions to change the city. We knew the town didn’t have barbecue, and me and my wife put our minds together and said, ‘Let’s go somewhere that doesn’t have barbecue and make it great.’”
