Kiwanis to host Citizen of the Year Ceremony on Jan. 26
Garnet Reynolds, 2020 Citizen of the Year, with Norma Haynes, 2022 Citizen of the Year.
From Staff Reports
The Citizen of the Year award ceremony will be held January 26, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at the Newnan Centre. The prestigious event is sponsored by the Kiwanis Clubs of Coweta County. The Newnan Centre is located at 1515 Lower Fayetteville Road, Newnan.
The award honors an individual showing outstanding leadership and citizenship within the community, someone who has demonstrated exemplary vision, civic pride, and a strong commitment to a better Coweta.
The deadline to purchase tickets for the event is Friday, Jan. 13. Tickets are $50 and tables are available at $400 and $500. Contact Nancy Walden at 770-596-6428 or [email protected].
A nominee is selected by previous COTY winners. The 2022 winner was Norma Haynes.
Guidelines for selecting the nominee include:
The nominee should live in Coweta County, and his/her activities should be centered in Coweta County and the surrounding area.
Consideration will be given to those who demonstrate leadership and performance in multiple areas of community service over a period of years.
The nominee may be an individual from any walk of life, and there are no requirements or restrictions relating to gender, age, race, religion or ethnic background.
The 2023 Citizen of the Year Nominees
There are 10 nominees this year including doctors, ministers, educators, as well as business and civic leaders.
Samantha Brazie: Resident of Coweta County for the past 15 years. She is director of sales and operations for Progressive Heating and Air. She was graduated from Clayton State University and got her MBA from the University of West Georgia. Currently, she is the chair of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce; board member of ELEVATE Coweta Students; advisory board member, University of West Georgia; HVAC advisory board member – West Georgia Technical College; community advisory committee member – Piedmont Newnan Hospital; chair – Business Women’s Network, Chamber of Commerce.
Cynthia Bennett: Has a bachelor of science from Florida State University and a Masters in Education from George Washington University. She is a retired school teacher and was named Teacher of the Year at Ellis G. Arnall Middle School and East Coweta High School. She was also vice president of talent development for the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce before retiring in 2020. Currently, she is president of the board of directors for Meals on Wheels; member of the Chamber of Commerce;vice chair of the board of directors for the Coweta Community Foundation; ballot review officer for the Coweta County Board of Elections; and vice chair of the Coweta County Public Facilities Authority.
Jimmy Ellison: Earned his Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology/Emory and his doctorate in Church Leadership and Preaching from Asbury Theological Seminary. He has served four area churches and is the founding pastor of Providence United Methodist Church and Newnan City Church. He has served on the boards of Atlanta’s Historic Oakland Cemetery; Georgia Prisons Ministry; Safehouse Outreach; and is currently on the board for Young Harris College. He is the founder of Restoration Atlanta, which serves single-parent families getting out of homelessness. He is a key leader for Newnan Emergency Shelter Team (NEST), which helps the marginalized in extreme weather in Newnan, and is chaplain for the Newnan Fire Department.
Chris Doane: A small business owner in Newnan who started Crezent Marketing in 2006. He serves corporations, small businesses and nonprofits with branding, website design and social media marketing. He currently serves as the Newnan Rotary Membership Chair; chairman of the Bike Coweta board; Explore Newnan Coweta vice chair; MTB (Mountain Bike) Atlanta president; vice president of SORBA (Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association). He and his company were recognized as the 2016 Newnan Coweta Chamber Small Business of the Year and 2021 Newnan Rotarian of the Year.
Dean Jackson: Was graduated from Georgia State University and served six years as business editor of The Newnan Times-Herald. Since 2001, he has served as the Public Information Officer for the Coweta County School System. His past and current positions include: chairman of the Coweta Community Foundation; board member and chairman of the Newnan Coweta Chamber of Commerce; chairman of the Coweta County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Friends of Chattahoochee Bend Park, chairman and vice president; chairman of Leadership Coweta Board; Co-founder of Newnan-Coweta Youth Leadership; and advisory committee member for the United Way of Metro Atlanta.
Dr. Pam Johnson: Received her doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Auburn University and was the long-time owner and hospital director of Dogwood Veterinary Hospital and Laser Center. In 2016, the clinic was named the overall Small Business of the Year by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce. Dogwood was also named as the Reader’s Choice of Veterinary Services for three years in a row by Coweta Magazine. Prior to COVID, she was an active member and board member of the Newnan Kiwanis Club, and volunteered with the Kiwanis Coweta County Fair and the Newnan Kiwanis annual Christmas Shopping event for children. She also worked to develop safe ways for animals to be treated during the COVID crisis.
Terri Lemons: Has served as pastor of Newnan Chapel United Methodist Church for seven years. She has focused on creating a path for more cooperation among churches across racial lines. She was a leader in the Newnan Church Tornado Response partnership with other downtown churches. Her church, the oldest black church in Newnan, suffered extensive damage from the tornado. Nevertheless, she led an effort that pulled together more than 100 volunteers and provided more than 500 families with supplies and food after the storm. She has served on the Coweta Recovery Committee since its inception after the tornado.
Maureen Schuyler: Has served as the museum director for the Senoia Historical Society since 2010. By curating artifacts donated by families in and around Senoia, she and her team of volunteers have created vignettes telling the story of Senoia and Coweta County. She serves on the design committee for the Senoia Downtown Development Committee and as an advisory board member to the Coweta County Library. She also has served as a Historic Preservation Commissioner for the city of Senoia; and was a team member on Senoia’s Comprehensive Plan.
Kristen Timoteo: Is the Library Branch Manager for the Grantville and Senoia branches of the Coweta County Library System. She has a special interest in children and believes that investing time, energy, money and positiveness in them now, they will have a brighter future. She is treasurer of the Grantville Kiwanis Club; member of the Community Action Team for Coweta Ferst Foundation; mentor for ELEVATE Coweta Students at Glanton and Eastside Elementary schools; volunteer with Yeager Road Community Resource Center; and serves as a reader to the YMCA, libraries and elementary schools.
Mike Winslett: Is president and CEO of DTH Expeditors Inc., which specializes in expedited air freight and is named after his three children, Drew, Tyler and Hannah. After a tornado struck Newnan in March of 2021, he was instrumental in ensuring the city and county had ample resources. This also included substantial donations and purchases for the Newnan Fire Department and city of Newnan. He and his employees set up and cooked meals on the grounds of Newnan High School for those engaged with tornado relief efforts. He is the founder and long-time supporter of the Baseball 4 Christ ministry program and several other local non-profits.
All great, but Cynthia Bennett is most deserving this year. Good luck, Cynthia.