For all of those who were not around in 1927, here is a little bit of this coveted award’s history, as told by our club historian Glenn Williams.

The Tampa Civitan Club (now Tampa Metro) joined Civitan International in 1927. That same year, the leaders of the club decided to select a local person as our Outstanding Citizen of the Year.  This prestigious award, now in its 82nd year, is presented to a person in Tampa for his or her work towards bettering our community. This is a most anticipated award and is presented annually at the Governor’s Day Luncheon at the Florida State Fair in February.

A member of the Selection Committee Luncheon commented many years ago that the list of recipient names looked like a City of Tampa map with so many streets, roads, buildings and schools with the names of the recipients, such as Howard Franklin (Bridge), Brorein, McKay, Lambright, Pizzo, Fred Learey, Carlton, Peter O. Knight (Airport), etc.

In 1991, one of Tampa’s finest educators, Abraham R. Brown, was selected and became the first African-American to received this award. Soon after, an article appeared in the Reader’s Digest which told of his selection as well as many of his other accomplishments.

In 1953, the first woman was selected, Mrs. Frank D. Jackson. She was preceded by her husband who received the award in 1946.

Many recipients have been related to previous recipients such as the Brorein’s, Davis’s, Lowry’s and Ferman’s. This goes to show that the family gene for getting involved by donating time & talent is passed down through the generations.

What makes the award so popular is the fact that the recipient does not know he or she is being selected until the moment their name is announced after a brief history of their many outstanding accomplishments they have performed in Tampa.  This award is not given for financial contributions; nor, is it given for seeking political recognition or fulfilling job related duties. It is given to a person who volunteers a countless measure of his or her time, talent and energy to improve Tampa through the years.

Past Winners

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