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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Don Beehler at 615.566.0776 / don@abcdcommunications.com
Miles Ezell, Jr., Named 2009 Recipient of
Joe & Honey Rodgers Leadership Award
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 19, 2009) – Miles Ezell, Jr., has
been named recipient of the first Joe & Honey Rodgers Leadership Award for
the Christian Leader of the Year. Ezell, senior chairman of Purity Dairies LLC,
a division of Dean Foods, will be honored
Nov. 2 at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. A reception will be held at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7.
Individual tickets are $250, with host committee, table and
even sponsorships available. Proceeds will go to The Operation Andrew Group, a Christian non-profit
ministry whose mission is to unite churches, businesses and civic groups to
help spiritually and socially transform communities in Nashville and Middle
Tennessee.
According to Jack Faris, chairman of the selection
committee, seventeen people were nominated and all were qualified, but Ezell
was the unanimous choice for the 2009 award.
“Miles has led with humility and integrity. Over the years I have worked with him
on many community projects, and he is a person you can always count on to do
the right thing,” Faris said. “His
word is gold.”
“I’ve known Mr. Ezell for many years, and he is an
outstanding Christian leader who embodies the character and traits this award
seeks to honor,” added Marty Dickens, a community leader and business friend.
The Joe and Honey Rodgers Leadership Award for the Christian
Leader of the Year is given to a man or woman who demonstrates outstanding
leadership and consistency in living the Christian faith through a life of personal
integrity, godly character and concern for others. He or she must be an individual from the Nashville area who
is generous in sharing time, talents and resources to further God’s kingdom,
with a proven track record for making a difference for good in the community. The person selected also must have an
excellent reputation that is above reproach, and be known for putting faith
into action.
Nominees must be individuals who have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and adhere to a biblical worldview. Award recipients must be living and willing to be honored. An additional criterion for the first-year recipient was that he or she was not currently involved in The Operation Andrew Group.
Ezell has spent several decades of service to organizations
such as Lipscomb University, the Tennessee Chapter of the Nature Conservancy
and the Nashville Area Red Cross. He was named the 1995 Philanthropist of the Year by the National
Association of Professional Fund Raisers and Man of the Year by The Red Cross (2002)
and AGAPE (2006). In 1978, he
received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Ohio State University. Ezell has been an elder at Una Church
of Christ for thirty years.
In addition to serving as senior
chairman of Purity Dairies, Ezell remains active in several community events
and runs the family’s foundations.
Joe M. Rodgers, who died last Feb. at 75, was a man of local, national and global influence. He was head of an international construction company based in Nashville, and served as U.S. Ambassador to France from 1985-89. Rodgers possessed a deep commitment to community service and generously shared his time, wisdom and leadership ability with numerous civic, charitable and religious organizations, including serving as chairman of the 2000 Middle Tennessee Billy Graham Crusade.
For
more information about the Nov. 2 event, call Angie at 352-1805 or e-mail office@operationandrew.org
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