Globe-News honors 2023 awards recipients with Man and Woman of the Year ceremony
The Amarillo Globe-News (AGN) honored the 2023 Headliners, Citizens on the Move, and Man and Woman of the Year as presented by FirstBank Southwest (FBSW) on Thursday evening at a ceremony in the Amarillo Civic Center Heritage Ballroom.
This year was the 74th annual honoring event, held as a dinner for the first time in its history. The event began with a prayer by Jeff Pugh, chaplain with Northwest Texas Healthcare System, followed by a welcome from Amarillo Globe-News editor Adam Young and a singing of the National Anthem by former Chuck Alexander, Dean Yates and Mary Lyn Halley of Insufficient Funds. Alexander was the AGN's 2017 Man of the Year.
Prior to the awards being presented by Andy Marshall, president and CEO of FBSW, Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley spoke about the importance of the honor and what it means for the community.
"We are here tonight to honor two individuals that are actively and positively impacting the people that are around them; they are changemakers, agents of change. These are people that we look up to because the only way you can make a change is to do the work. That is the truest form of servant leadership, and we are here to honor them tonight," Stanley said.
Following the three-course dinner catered by Macaroni Joe's, the award ceremony began by honoring the 2023 Headliners Keralee Clay and Dr. Alan Kiester, followed by the 2023 Citizens on the Move including Skylar Gallop, Tommie Knox, Dr. Traci Rogers, Wendi Swope, Shawn Kennedy, Danny and Bobby Lee, and Jeff Renteria.
Following the congratulations of those individuals, Marshall presented the 2023 Woman of the Year April Johansson, followed by the 2023 Man of the Year Tremaine Brown. Each individual took the stage and accepted their award following a standing ovation and a round of applause from the room.
"My career has been identified by opportunity, encouragement and gratitude. ... There is an old Swedish proverb that states that 'sorrow and joy are next door neighbors,'" Johansson said. "On Sept. 30, my husband of 47 years Ove changed his address from a physical to a spiritual one. ... I am joyful, appreciative and humble to learn three months later the Globe-News had named me Woman of the Year beginning with a nomination from him."
In her acceptance speech, Johansson spoke of her story and how she took a chance to start her business in Amarillo, which led to the success that it has today. The 2023 Woman of the Year spoke about her love for her family, for the community, and how the hard work of herself and the encouragement, partnership and friendship of those around led her to this moment. Johansson spoke of the importance of sharing and giving joy, ending her speech with a Swedish proverb, "delad glädje är dubbel glädje," which means shared joy is double joy.
The 2023 Man of the Year took the stage with his daughter and life inspiration in tow, accepting the award and dedicating it to his mother, Shi Lee, and daughter, Shilah. Brown explained the timeline of events and amount of giving can all be seen in the life of his daughter how as she aged he expanded his philanthropic endeavors to be a better role model for her and create a better community for her future.
"When Shilah was born, I so wanted her to be a giver; we all know that this world has plenty of takers. I wanted her to be a giver, so we did our very first Christmas toy drive. She was about 7 months. She was just starting to walk; we had to carry her around. That first Christmas, we had 50,000- to 60,000 toys. We visited local hospitals. We visited the Ronald McDonald House. We visited Martha's Home, and helped the Salvation Army and any families we could," Brown said.
Eleven years later, after the first Christmas event that started it all, Brown has expanded and continues to grow his giving to meet the needs of the community. With this award, the Man of the year said he hopes to create more connections, inspire others to help and, within his non-profit, create more opportunities to help area children in need in any capacity he can.
Closing the event, Marshall echoed the feeling of the room, stating: "How do you listen to April, how do you listen to Tremaine and not strive to be a better person? How do you not try to be a better person than you were yesterday and each and every day? We may not be successful, but we will try after hearing their stories."
The Amarillo Globe-News congratulates all recipients of the 2023 awards and thanks them for their commitment to making Amarillo a better place.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Globe-News honors 2023 Man and Woman of the Year
