Joiner receives Jackson chamber's William H. Booth Award

JEFFERSON - Former Jefferson Mayor Jim Joiner was honored at the recent Annual Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet with the William H. Booth Achievement Award.

The award, named after one of the founders of both the Jackson Electric Membership Corporation and the Jackson County Chamber, recognizes a life-long distinction in one's professional field and a history of achievement and leadership in service to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Jackson County community through consistent support of community endeavors that enhance the quality of life.

"This is the Chamber's most prestigious award in that it recognizes a lifetime of achievement and service to our community," said Josh Fenn, Chamber President/CEO. "Jim is immanently deserving of this recognition and the timing couldn't be better as his final term as mayor just recently concluded at the end of the year."

Outgoing Chamber Chairman of the Board, Mark Valentine, in making the announcement, reviewed several of Joiner's accomplishment over the years which included 12 years as mayor and his instrumental efforts in saving the Crawford W. Long Museum and the Pendergrass Store. He also lead the efforts in the restoration of the Jefferson Civic Center, the Downtown Jefferson Streetscape and the purchase of new state of the art equipment for the Jefferson Fire Departmentthat went on to earn them an ISO rating of 3. He was also instrumental in the construction of the city's recreation center, the development of the central city wastewater mechanical plant and the city's second reservoir.

The primary purpose of the Chamber Banquet is to announce several community service and Chamber related awards, in addition to the formal installation of the new Board of Directors andnew Chairman of the Board. The other award winners included the following: Charlie Schrauth,Ambassador of the Year; diAna Kunz-Huckins, Volunteer of the Year; and Mark Bradley as Citizen of the Year. The Small Business of the Year Award was presented to Josh Aaron for The Savory Spoon restaurant, while The Large Business of the Year Award winner was Huber Engineered Woods, LLC.

The winners were all chosen by a committee that was comprised of past Chamber award winners, as they reviewed nominations that came from Chamber members.