Apr. 14—HENDERSON — Mark Hopper was announced as the 2021 Citizen of the Year at the annual Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce Membership Meeting and Banquet on Tuesday evening.
In announcing the designation, Col. Archie Taylor, the 2020 awardee, said Hopper's selection was made "in recognition for all that he has done for the betterment of our city and county."
Connecting Hopper's selection with the Chamber's 2022 theme of "A Year of Community," Taylor added, "Through his tireless efforts, our award winner has truly cast his vote for the kind of community we all want to live in."
In addition to his "day job" as minister of music at First Baptist Church, Hopper serves as operations director and board chairman for McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center and the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation. Taylor, who's a Vance county commissioner, pointed out that Hopper handles many of the administrative tasks of managing McGregor Hall while also providing artistic leadership to the programming and theatrical productions.
"The most significant aspect of these achievements is that he has accomplished all of this entirely as an unpaid volunteer," Taylor said.
After noting Hopper's involvement in numerous organizations and activities in his more than two decades as a resident of Henderson, Taylor said, "[he] has always demonstrated a deep devotion to the children and youth of our community. Through McGregor Hall productions, Henderson Rec Players productions, Arts Alive and other programming, our award winner has dedicated countless hours to working with our young people — helping to instill a love of music and theater that will last a lifetime."
He added that Hopper "possesses a special gift as a teacher and mentor to children and youth, who adore him, and who are the future of our community."
The announcement of Hopper's award was the highlight of an evening focused on the theme, "A year of community." Ronald Bennett, chairman of the Chamber board of directors, said business, government, education and medical organizations are partners. He pointed to the Chamber logo, with its words, "connect, grow, prosper." Everybody is connected, not just businesses, he said.
He told how Leadership Vance builds community by bringing people from throughout the area together to learn about the area's resources.
"There are a lot of positives going on in our community," he said. Some of these are described in the Chamber magazine, "Envision Vance," published in collaboration with The Dispatch.