VALDOSTA — “When you see a need, take the lead,” said Jeanette Coody during her acceptance speech. 

The 96-year-old won the Louie Peeples White Award for Outstanding Community Service presented this week by the Valdosta Civic Roundtable.

The announcement was made during an annual holiday luncheon at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts.

Coody, who’d been friends with the late Louie Peeples White for years, said it was unbelievable to receive an award named after her.

White was the former president of the Roundtable and the Lowndes County Historical Society. She was also president of the Valdosta Heritage Foundation and member of the Lowndes/Valdosta Arts Commission, according to organizers. 

“I had no idea that I would even be in the running,” Coody said.

Other nominees included Councilwoman Vivian Miller-Cody and Tiffany Vinson.

Coody, who was nominated by H. Aaron Strickland of Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful, won the award for her many years of service, according to organizers.

“The committee chose her because of her outstanding volunteerism, the letters that were written on her behalf and all the things that she did,” said Darcy Gunter, Roundtable president.

Coody founded The Haven, was a founding board member of KLVB and has completed volunteer work in places such as China and Alaska, according to organizers.

She’s involved with her church choir and is a member of the Sunshine Club for senior adults. She has lived in Valdosta for 53 years. 

Strickland has known Coody for about 18 years and said he nominated her because of how active she is in the community. He said people should strive to emulate her.

“You look around, and you see a lot of hate in the world … and you see a lot of people who don’t really seem to care,” Strickland said, “and it’s refreshing whenever you interact with people who do care.”

Strickland characterized Coody as a “96-year-old Energizer bunny” in his nomination letter.

“She is busier and more involved in her community than people a third her age,” he wrote.

Coody encouraged volunteer efforts in the Valdosta community.

“Why I volunteer, my father taught me service is the rent you pay for the space you occupy,” she said. 

During the ceremony, Dr. Beverley Richardson-Blake gave the invocation. Backpacks and toys were also donated to the Department of Family and Children Services. 

Amanda Usher is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1274.