“I just love Tifton”: Chamber celebrates award winners at annual banquet
Published 9:00 am Sunday, February 3, 2019
- Darian Peavey takes the gavel from outgoing Chamber president Bill Marsh.
TIFTON — The Tifton/Tift County Chamber of Commerce honored the winners of seven awards at the annual banquet on Jan. 31.
M. Jay Hall, who won the J. Lamar Branch Award, summed up what many of the winners expressed in his acceptance speech.
“I just love Tifton,” he said.
Chamber President Brian Marlowe spoke about Tifton’s continued growth and success.
“2018 marked another successful year with a number of announcements and grand openings,” he said. “Some of these included hosting the second Rural Prosperity Summit, the opening of the Tift College and Career Academy and expansions by American Textile Company, Heatcraft, Kelley Manufacturing, Orgill, International Paper Converters, Piedmont National, AirEvac, Atlantic Southern, Change Brothers and Tire Distributors of Georgia. These successes, along with one of the strongest retail pull factors in the state, continue to support significant downtown redevelopment and retail and commercial development along the 82 corridor. Collectively, this signals a strong local economy.”
He said that he felt 2019 will see more growth in existing industries and that new businesses will make Tifton home.
Darian Peavey, who took over as council chairman for 2019, said that the award winners had several common factors:
“Their hard work, their determination and their commitment,” said Peavey “They care about Tifton. They want to see it grow.”
• Bill Brim, president of Lewis Taylor Farms, was the winner of the Stafford Award.
• Lanier Carson with Kelley Manufacturing was the winner of the Rotary Ethics in Business Award.
• M. Jay Hall, an agent with New York Life and owner of Collins, was named the winner of the J. Lamar Branch Award.
• Jennifer Herzog, an attorney with Hall, Booth, Smith P.C., was the winner of the Prince Business Woman of the Year Award.
• Kim Hester, with Ambassador Personnel, was named the Ambassador of the Year.
• Lynn Lovett, who works for Georgia Power, was inducted into the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce’s Wall of Fame.
• Lance and Blake Ruttenberg, who serve as the CEO and Executive Vice President of American Textile Company, won the John Hunt Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
