Press Release

Chamber honors citizens, business

Sweetwater's outstanding citizens and business of the year for 2005 were announced Monday night during the 41st annual Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce banquet at Nolan County Coliseum Annex.

Chris Maxwell, sales manager for ADIT, was named Outstanding Young Citizen. The award is presented to the person who is between the ages of 21 and 40 during the year for which the award is given. Maxwell was introduced by 2004 recipient Scott Hallman.

Sandra Spears, a member of the board of directors for the National WASP WWII Museum, was named Outstanding Female Citizen. Spears was introduced by 2004 recipient Shirley Moore.

Larry Ludlum, vice president in charge of research and development for Ludlum Measurements, was named Outstanding Male Citizen. Ludlum was introduced by 2002 recipient Tom Henderson.

Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital, which ranks in the top 1 percent of U.S. hospitals, was named Business of the Year. The selection was announced by Kirby Andrews, senior vice president of First National Bank, the 2004 honoree. The Business of the Year traveling trophy is sponsored by the Sweetwater Reporter.

Recipients for the Chamber's top individual awards were nominated through a process open to the entire Sweetwater community, and were selected by a committee comprised of winners from the past six years in the three categories. To be considered for the honor, candidates must have contributed to the welfare and advancement of Sweetwater through community activity, and have demonstrated a high degree of ability in his or her chosen oc-cupation.

Active involvement in church activities is also a consideration in the selection process.

The top business award is chosen from a list of nominees, and the recipient must be a member of the Chamber of Commerce. The selection committee for the honor is comprised of the Cham-ber's president-elect, two Cham-ber board members, representatives from the previous two business winners (Lawrence Man-agement Services and First Na-tional Bank), an at-large Cham-ber member and a representative from the Sweetwater Reporter. The honored business must have been in business for at least six months. Selection criteria for the award includes support for local activities, economic impact by the business, employee participation in civic activities and/or state and federal government, and outstanding achievement and service to Sweetwater and Nolan County.

Maxwell serves the Chamber of Commerce as 2004-05 treasurer and 2005-06 president-elect. He is a 1987 graduate of Leadership Sweetwater, and formerly served on the board of directors for United Way. He serves as president of the Sweet-water Little League and as an assistant coach in the Sweet-water Youth Football League. He also coached soccer.

He is a member of Kiwanis Club and past treasurer and past president of the club. He is a member of the South Texas Health Physics Society and past secretary for the organization. He volunteers for the Municipal Auditorium, delivers meals for SNAP and is involved in the Texas Midwest Soap Box Derby.

He is an elder at First Pres-byterian Church.

Spears is a past treasurer for the National WASP WWII Mu-seum, and serves as a volunteer at the museum. Her father, Rig-don Edwards, was a WASP instructor at Avenger Field during World War II. She is a graduate of Sweetwater's Newman High School and Texas Tech University. She and her husband, Richard, returned to Sweetwater from Singapore to retire.

She is an active volunteer with the Girl Scouts, Woman's For-um, Book Review Club, City-County Library, Athenaeum Club and PEO Sisterhood, having served in almost every capacity in virtually every club in which she is a member. She is also active in the American Can-cer Society's Relay for Life and the American Heart Associa-tion's Heart Walk.

She was honored by the Woman's Forum in 2004 as the recipient of the Roberta Rich-ardson Volunteer Award. She is a member at First United Meth-odist Church.

Ludlum has served as president of the Sweetwater-Nolan County Municipal Auditorium Board of Directors since 1991, and a member of Sweetwater Little Theater since 1984. He has been a member of the Sweet-water Municipal Band since its inception in 1990, and was a member of the Sweetwater All-American City committee in 1988. He is a 1983 graduate of Leadership Sweetwater.

He is a graduate of Sweetwater and Texas Tech University with a degree in electrical engineering. He formerly served as a coach in youth sports including T-ball, baseball, soccer and basketball, and is a past member of the American Junior Rodeo Asso-ciation National Finals Rodeo entertainment committee. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church.

Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital has distinguished itself among the elite in the healthcare industry, earning five-star rankings in multiple categories of patient care. Its continuing commitment to high quality and cost effectiveness has enabled RPMH to achieve a strategic balance which successfully achieving its mission.

Tom Kennedy, RPMH administrator, points out that the hospital's tax rate is up to 65 percent lower than neighboring hospital districts.

RPMH has proven itself as a valuable community partner, realizing a $16 million return on Sweetwater's local tax investment of $1.4 million. Most of that $16 million return flows into the local economy through wages for 220 employees as well as hospital purchases.