By Bart Moss / For the FCT

Among a number of Franklin County Farm-City banquet honorees Monday, a Russellville man received top recognition.

Bret Gist was awarded the Citizen of the Year award at the 62nd annual event.

Gist, the co-owner and vice-president of G&G Steel Inc. and Franklin Manufacturing, is active in serving the city of Russellville. He partnered with the Russellville City School System to update the JumboTron for the athletic department and sponsored the Liberty Learning Foundation Super Citizen program for the financial literacy and social studies programs at the RHS.

“It is such a great honor to be selected for this award,” said Gist, who is also president of the Russellville City School Board. “I see a lot of kids around here who want to leave Franklin County and Russellville when they graduate. I just wanted to get involved and do something that would maybe encourage them to stay. It takes a lot of work to keep jobs in this area, and it takes a lot of people pulling in the same direction. Franklin County is a great place to live, work and raise a family, and hopefully we have made some kind of impact.”

Gist also serves on the board of directors for North Alabama Works and is a member of the Russellville Booster Club. He established Technical Trade and Nursing Scholarships in honor of his grandparents.

Several other awards were presented to members of the community. Martin “Cowboy” Golden was posthumously awarded the Conservation Farm of the Year; Cheri McCain received the Community Development Award; Colt Thomas won the Agriculture Youth Award; the Franklin County Cattleman’s Association received the Service Award; Georgia Poultry won the Agriculture Business of the Year award; Sharon Hindman Hester and O’Neal King received the Humanitarian Award; Ronnie Glass won the Agriculture Lifetime Achievement Award; Joseph Fike received the Farmer of the Year Award; and Barney and Pamela Ann Nix won the Family Farm of the Year Award.

Local students received awards through their 4-H programs for poster contests, essay contests and multimedia presentations. This year’s theme was Agriculture: Food For Life.

Winners were:

Poster Contest (K-3): 1st place, Anna Norton, Phil Campbell, teacher Amy Thomas; 2nd place, Maddox Hoffman, Vina, teacher Leigh Burks; 3rd place, Mikayela Jackson, Red Bay, teacher Jamie Payne; 4th place, Madison Edwards, Vina, teacher Elisha Coons; honorable mention, Levi Miller, Vina, teacher Leigh Burks; honorable mention, Joseph Beal, Red Bay, teacher Jamie Payne; honorable mention: Alyssa Bryant, Belgreen, teacher Ina Taylor; and honorable mention Olivia Mixon, Belgreen, teacher Dana Hill.

Poster Contest (4-6): 1st place, Alex Quintero, Tharptown, teacher Samantha Bain; 2nd place, Vanessa Piomotor, Tharptown, teacher Shayna Alonso; 3rd place, Lindsay Everett, Belgreen, teacher Emily Blanton; 4th place, Meleeha Weaver, Red Bay, teacher Trisha McKinney; honorable mention, Lola Mays, Phil Campbell, teacher Juliann Riley; honorable mention Haley Abarca, Tharptown, teacher Braisly Barboza; and honorable mention: Anna Kate Burks, Tharptown, teacher Kristy Smith.

Essay Contest: Jaidy Vela, Tharptown, teacher Linda Spurgeon.

Multimedia Contest: 1st place, Linda Bahena, Tharptown; 2nd place, Hannah Hardin, Tharptown; 3rd Place, J.J. Alfaro, Tharptown. Teacher, Scott Vance.