Former Philadelphia Mayor Rayburn Waddell will be honored as Philadelphia and Neshoba County's 2009 Citizen of the Year later this month during the annual banquet of the Community Development Partnership.
The program will get under way at 6:30 p.m. in the Neshoba County Coliseum on Monday, Sept. 28.
The Citizen of the Year award has been presented annually since 1989 when Stanley Dearman, then editor and publisher of The Neshoba Democrat, was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce, which initiated the award.
Other recipients have been:
Allan King, Mary Gipson, Albert Latting, Dr. Rudolph Posey, Hugh Thomasson, Kenneth Breland, George Saxon, Chief Phillip Martin, William G. Yates Jr., Don Kilgore, Steve Webb, Connie Sampsell, Charles Mars, Glen Waddell, 367th Maintenance Co. and the 298th Corps Support Battalion, Jackie Hester, Lynda Stribling, David Vowell and Audine Agent.
Waddell, first elected mayor in 1997, was Philadelphia's first full-time mayor.
One of his first accomplishments as mayor was to convert Main and Beacon streets to one-way traffic due to visitors traveling to and from the then newly opened Silver Star Hotel & Casino.
From there he pushed for improvements and expansion of the airport to attract and retain industry.
Throughout his administration, Waddell sought growth in other areas, ending his career with a new renovated and expanded park system, a ladder truck for the fire department and the renovation of the historic train depot, among other things.
During Waddell's tenure as mayor, the city received more than $13 million in grant monies to fund numerous projects, some of which have yet to be completed.
Entertainment for this year's CDP banquet will be "Raphael Semmes presents Mississippi LIVE!" a fast moving, entertaining and informative revue that features Mississippi songs, songwriters, artists and performers and diverse musical styles.
Performers include Jewel Bass of Malaco Records, Blues great Jesse Robinson, and Bill Ellison, host of the popular "Grass Roots" program on Mississippi Public Radio.
Other performers will also also featured.
The finale of the night will be "(Mississippi) Feels Like Coming Home," which Semmes wrote to promote Mississippi tourism on television and radio. The show highlights music from all regions of the state.
The idea for the show took shape years ago as a special event for a Mississippi Governor's inaugural ball and evolved into a vehicle for promoting the state's tourism industry in recent years, Lisa Howell, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street, said.
Audiences from Atlanta to Dallas, including governors and dignitaries from around the country, have been thrilled, informed and entertained by the array of Mississippi talent onstage and have experienced first hand why "music is Mississippi's most famous export," she said.
The Neshoba Central JROTC will present the colors.
Tickets are on sale now for $20 at the Community Development Partnership office located in the historic train depot.
