Nominations are now being accepted for the Bobby Runnels Leadership Award, given annually by the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce to an individual who personifies the best qualities of the Friendly City.
Submissions for the award, which was instituted in 1994, will be taken until Jan. 8, with any member of the chamber of commerce able to enter a name into the hat.
“Since we’ve started doing this, we’ve recognized those leaders in Petal that have gone above and beyond their duty not just as a business person, but also as a community member, a civic leader, a supporter of the school system, ” said Valerie Wilson, executive director. “They are there at every event and activity giving their support.
“People like that make the community come together and represent the spirit of our community, and this really is the most prestigious award that the chamber gives out.”
Nomination forms can be found online at https://bit.ly/3ppRla4.
The nomination forms can be sent to valerie@petalchamber.com or sent via traditional mail to the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce, 117 North Main St., Suite 117, Petal, MS 39465.
The Bobby Runnels Leadership Award is given to someone who serves the community through church, family, school, civic clubs or the chamber, and the name of the recipient is kept a secret until the time of announcement. The award is named for Bobby Runnels, who served on Petal’s first elected board of aldermen and as mayor pro tem while then-mayor Jack Gay served in Desert Storm.
Previous winners include Demaris Lee, Brad Eubank, Ione Bond, Lynn Cartlidge and Nadine Coleman.
“By looking at the list of former recipients, you can just see the hundreds of volunteer hours and community service hours that these people have given,” Wilson said.
Although the Bobby Runnels award is usually given at the chamber’s annual banquet – along with the recognition of the Firefighter of the Year, Police Officer of the Year and the newly-instituted Spirit of Petal Business of the Year Award – that event may not be possible because of the ongoing pandemic.
“I’m meeting (soon) to see what options there are for us, but considering the state of COVID and the fact that they believe our numbers may rise following these holidays, I just don’t see us having it traditionally,” Wilson said. “Right now, we’re looking at options – do we just postpone it, do we include it with next year’s, do we come up with a hybrid type of event?
“At this point, we still don’t know, but we’re working on that. We do want to recognize our (award winners) – we don’t want them to go unnoticed just because of COVID. In fact, this year more than ever, we want these people to be recognized for their service.”
