Randy Garrison

Hartselle Enquirer

The Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce seeks nominations for the awards to be given out at the annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet. The banquet will be held March, 29, 2016, at Hartselle High School beginning at 6 p.m. Guest speaker for the annual meeting will be Greg Screws, native of Hartselle and news anchor for WHNT TV19.

Each year the chamber honors local folks by naming them recipients of prestigious awards named after prominent Hartselle citizens. These include the Thomas M. Guyton Humanitarian Award, the E. R. Roberts Business Award, the John J. Sparkman Citizenship Award and the Tommy Ed Roberts Civic Award.

The chamber requests nominations for the annual awards and descriptions are as follows:

Dr. Thomas M. Guyton

Humanitarian Award

The Chamber of Commerce established this annual award in 1980.  It is a special award – for Thomas M. Guyton. The person who receives this award is a “gift” to the community.  It is given to someone who seeks to improve others lives, one who gives and gives, but yet never asks or takes in return. This person who receives this award is very deserving of this honor. This person never complains of being too busy to get involved.  This person is totally involved in their church, their work and the community.

E.R. Roberts Business Award

The Chamber has given this award annually since 1989. E.R. Roberts opened a clothing store in downtown Hartselle in 1921 when he has 20 years old. He started his business on the corner of Main and Sycamore and stayed in business for 69 years until his death in 1990.  He built his reputation with honesty and fair treatment to his customers, and strong civic pride and support. In his day his reputation was remarkable and today it would

be almost unheard of. Mr. Roberts accidentally over charged one of his customers $.17 on his purchase and he spent almost two hours looking for this person to give him back the $.17.  He was a beloved and successful businessman in our town. He was successful not because of money made, but because what he invested of himself back into the community. That’s why he’s honored today and why Hartselle is a better place to live. There are still people like E.R. Roberts in the business community.

Traits exhibited by this recipient are:  Honesty, hard work, strong civic support, fair treatment, active in community, church and chamber of commerce.

John J. Sparkman

Citizenship Award

The Chamber established this award in 1998 in honor of Senator John J. Sparkman.  He dedicated more than 40 years of tireless commitment and dedication to the United States, State of Alabama and Morgan County.  The recipient of this award should be someone who has gone beyond the call of duty and has dedicated time and effort for the Hartselle area and Morgan County. The person would be of the character that would be viewed as a good citizen.

Tommy Ed Roberts Civic Award

Tommy Ed Roberts (October 19, 1940 – March 1, 2014) was an American politician and businessman from Hartselle. He graduated from Morgan County High School and served in the United States Army Reserve and the Alabama National Guard. He attended Jacksonville State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and University of Oklahoma. He owned a men’s clothing store in Decatur and was president and CEO of the Morgan County Economic Development Association. In 1974, he began serving in the Alabama House of Representatives, and then in 1994, he moved to the Alabama State Senate. The person receiving this award would be someone who goes out of their way and devotes time and effort to help the City or Hartselle and Morgan County and for the people who live here.

To submit nominations, use the information below and sent to the requested address. Nominations are welcome for each award; the chamber does request that you distinguish which award you are making the nomination for.

NOMINATION FORM

Please designate award; Person submitting nomination name, address and phone; name of nominee; occupation/business, address, phone number; reason for  nomination; community activities of nominee..

The Chamber is proud to recognize the efforts of those who have contributed so much to our community. All nominations must be in written form.  Deadline for completed forms is Friday, March 4, 2016. Return to:  Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce, P. O. Box 817, Hartselle, AL.  35640, Fax: 256-773-4379.