The Levelland Chamber of Commerce held their annual Awards Luncheon on Friday. They recognized their many volunteers that work together to make Levelland a better place.
Andrea Garcia was recognized as the Young Professional of the Year. She currently serves as the Executive Director at Hickory Place Assisted Living. She is married to Emilio and they have three children. After spending 15 years in the financial industry, Andrea found her “work of heart” in Senior Living. She also volunteers with Marigolds, Ambassadors and the Main Street program.
Randy Parrish was recognized as the Educational Professional of the Year. Parrish has taught in the State of Texas for 42 years, 37 of those years at Levelland ISD. During his time at Levelland High School he taught chemistry and nearly all of the math courses taught at the high school level. He was also employed by South Plains College as an adjunct professor and taught dual-credit courses. While teaching, he was also involved in many activities. He served as student council sponsor, national honor society sponsor, and youth chamber of commerce liaison. He coached math teams that competed in number sense, calculator, and mathematics. He was also involved in the athletic endeavors of students at LHS. He worked football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, and power lifting events throughout his tenure. Randy and his wife have two daughters, who are both educators and one son attending Abilene Christian University.
Lisa Delgado was recognized as the Marigold of the Year. She currently serves as the Vice President of the organization. She has been a member of the Marigolds for two years and currently serves as Assistant Vice President of Customer Development for City Bank in Levelland. She also serves on the Levelland Main Street Board and the Planning and Zoning Commission for the City of Levelland.
Levelland Mayor Barbra Pinner was recognized as the Keep Levelland Beautiful Hero. She has been a part of the organization since its inception and is active in all community clean up events and Keep Levelland Beautiful meetings. She also serves on the Chamber Board of Directors, the Beautification and Community Improvement Task Force. She is a member of the Levelland Marigolds, Past Chair of the Chamber Board of Directors, previous Citizen of the Year winner and an active Main Street volunteer.
Rusty Rose was recognized as the 2019 Oilfield Professional of the Year. Rusty started his oilfield career in 1977 at Norton Energy and shortly went to work for BRW Drilling putting him closer to home. In 2003, he established Rose Equipment, starting small and growing over the years while also creating a family business. He currently employs 46 people and the business continues to grow. He and his wife Cindy have three children, Amber, Brandon and Courtney, two grandchildren and one expected in March.
Donna Wheeler was recognized as the Ambassador of the Year. She joined the Marigolds in 2009 and that lead her to the Ambassadors and the Keep Levelland Beautiful efforts. She is head of the Public Awareness Committee with Keep Levelland Beautiful and also serves on that advisory board. She has been a key part of the downtown window lighting at Christmas and overall committed to making Levelland a better place to do business, raise a family and call home. She is a real estate agent for Farrar and Associates since 1999 and is the cosmetologist at the Hickory Place since 1996. She is married to Vernon and they have three kids and six grandchildren.
Dr. George Payne was recognized as the Medical Professional of the Year. Dr. Payne moved to Levelland in 1952 from Austin. He graduated from Levelland High School in 1963, attended Texas Tech and graduated from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1970. He began his career in optometry in 1973 with his dad. He and his wife Deborah have two sons Parker and Garret. He was also a member of Rotary for 46 years and was committed to Rotary Internationals effort to eradicate polio.
Tammy Franklin was recognized as the Citizen of the Year. Tammy graduated from Levelland High School, earned an Associate’s Degree from SPC and has been at Covenant Levelland for over 13 years where she started out as the Accounts Payable and Human Resources Clerk. She currently serves as Project Coordinator for Covenant Health Levelland and Covenant Levelland Foundation. Tammy has one daughter and son in law, who reside in Killeen and are expecting Tammy’s first grandchild in December.
LouAnn Crawley was recognized as the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Crawley has been involved with the Levelland Chamber of Commerce for over 48 years. She is one of the charter members of the Levelland Marigolds established in 1971 and has held numerous leadership roles in the organization over the years. She has volunteered for Taste of Levelland, Senior Citizen Radiothon, Meals on Wheels, VOICES Coalition, Random Acts of Kindness Week, Christmas on the Square and Levelland Relay for Life and is always a friendly face at the Early Settlers Day hospitality room.
Smith South Plains was recognized as the 2019 Business of the Year. In 1951 Bill H. Smith moved his family to Slaton, and started Slaton Motor Company. Smith had previously worked for Ford, and quickly fell in love with the car business. By 1965 Bill’s son, Steve Smith was actively involved in the store. In 1966 the father and son moved from their original downtown location to 1700 W. Division, and renamed the family business “Smith Ford.” In 1982, Steve’s daughter, Annette began working full time at Smith Ford and in 1989, she became the General Manager. Patrick Sykora was working in his family dealership, Sykora Family Ford in West, Texas. In 1997, Annette and Pat were married and became partners in the Slaton dealership. The dealership expanded to two locations in 1999 and the name was changed to Smith South Plains to reflect the family business which serves a large part of the south plains area. Pat and Annette are active in the business as the owners and operators. The family atmosphere lives on as three of their five children, as well as one son in law have joined the business.
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