By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
If you’re part of a participating civic club in Plant City, begin to think about your nomination for the Citizen of the Year award.
Clubs will gather to hold a blind vote at 6 p.m. Jan. 8, at the Hillsboro Bank, 509 W. Alexander St., to decide which local leader will join the previous 53 titleholders.
Only three people, Anna Reitz, Kenneth Gibbs and Kenneth Hawthorne, will know the winner before the Citizen of the Year event Feb. 13, at the John R. Trinkle Center.
“It is a very guarded secret,” Reitz said. “You couldn’t bribe us with anything.”
Reitz has been involved with the program for 10 years. Her favorite part is the secrecy of the winner.
Last year, 149 people attended the event, which includes a breakfast and presentation. The event not only recognizes the Citizen of the Year but also past recipients, an outstanding youth of the year and the Strawberry Queen court and festival directors.
The First National Bank of Plant City started the program in 1960. The first recipient was Arthur Boring, a prominent local bank president. Later, the Kiwanis Club took over the ceremony. It has grown throughout the years to include other civic clubs.
The program isn’t a fundraiser for any of the sponsoring clubs. Each club donates funds to help cover the cost of the ceremony.
When nominating a candidate, each club is asked to submit a written biography of the candidate, who should be considered for his or her local community contributions above and beyond the functions of his or her job. Candidates do not have to be a member of the club.
The candidate can’t be seeking political office, and a résumé or personal information should be acquired through friends or relatives, because the candidate can’t be contacted directly. Posthumous awards aren’t allowed, and current civic club presidents should not be nominated.
“It’s a big part of the community,” Reitz said. “If it wasn’t important, it wouldn’t have lasted 53 years.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.