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The ADVANCE, October 4, 2023/Page 5A
Photo By: Makaylee Randolph
FAMILY MAN - Stephens was surprised by 14 members of his family, who stayed out of sight to preserve the element
of surprise prior to the announcement of the Citizen of the Year Award.
Photo By: Makaylee Randolph
A SELFLESS MENTOR - Raymond Kim Stephens is known throughout the community for
his mentoring of youth, as he serves as the Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 939 of Ly
ons, L to R: Scout Leader Win Tippett, Nicholas Matthews, Tyler Cook, Isaac Fontaine,
Scoutmaster Kim Stephens.
Photo By: Makaylee Randolph
COMMUNITY IS A QUILT - Greater Vidalia Chamber Chair
-Elect Stephanie Williams spoke to the attendees at the
Lyons Citizen of the Year banquet and explained the im
portance of working together as a community.
Lyons
continued from page 1A
lot of people in this room
that deserve this a lot more
than I do.”
Members of the Boy
Scout Troop 939, of which
Stephens serves as Scout
master, along with 14
members of Stephen’s fam
ily were in attendance in
the crowd to witness him
receive the award, along
with the ceremonial Key to
the City, which is given by
the Lyons Mayor in recog
nition of the Citizen of the
Year awardee.
“You are very deserv
ing of this and we all know
it,” Mayor Willis NeSmith
Jr. emphasized.
“ [He is] a hard worker,
both inside and out - in
side for monetary value
and outside for passion,”
2022 Lyons Citizen of
the Year Lucretia Nobles
shared regarding Stephens.
“He loves the land because
he was raised on a farm and
had work to do - he was a
steward of the land. He is a
family person - a dear hus
band, a loving father, and
a superhero to the grand
children. He is a father to
many boys who are not his
own, and spends a great
amount of time with them
[through the Boy Scout
troop].”
She continued, “He is
a gentleman and a friend to
all. He cares about others,
as he has been a continu
ous blood donor for many
years. He believes in the
American way of life by the
actions he is involved in
and carries out. He is a per
son that believes that one
should leave this world in a
better place than he found
it. A person in need would
love to have him on their
side - he would give the
shirt off his back to help
someone in need. He is an
enthusiastic person and
loves the environment,
survivorship, and friend
ship.”
Nobles shared about
Stephens’ life in Lyons, as
she explained he was born
on July 2, 1960, to Jack
and Elaine Stephens. He
has four siblings, who all
worked on the family farm
near Adrian. His father had
a full-time job and man
aged the farm in the spare
time, and his mother split
her time between a full
time job, parenting, and
chores around the farm.
The Stephens family was
very active in the commu
nity and church, which is
evidenced through Ste
phens’ value of those two
things, according to No
bles.
Stephens attended a
diesel mechanic school
in Nashville, Tennessee,
where he earned a Master’s
Technician Degree. After
working a few years at a
diesel shop, Stephens de
cided to open his own me
chanic shop, which he has
had in Lyons for 43 years.
In the past five years, he
has opened two new busi
nesses outside of Lyons in
volving parts sales.
He has three children
- Jessica, Cheyney, and
Martin - along with two
grandchildren - Cheville
and Cash - and a wife of 30
years, Brenda. He is an ac
tive member of Lyons First
Methodist Church.
Stephens also serves
as a faithful supporter of
youth within the area,
whether it is support and/
or coaching during Mar
tin’s involvement with
recreation and travel base
ball during his childhood,
or through his commit
ment to Toombs County
Schools athletics as an
athletic booster, even af
ter Martin’s graduation
from the school system.
He is a known supporter
of the Toombs County Fu
ture Farmers of America
(FFA), as he values both
youth and farming.
He continues to work
on the family farm in his
free time, and the space
serves as an excellent hunt
ing location for him and
his family. Stephens also
utilizes the land to raise
cattle - a family tradition
passed down through gen
erations.
One of Stephens’
greatest contributions is
through his work with Boy
Scout Troop 939, with
which he became active
when Martin became a cub
scout. He helped encour
age and support his son un
til he reached Eagle Scout
status and continues to
support numerous Scouts
as they work to reach the
same achievement. Ste
phens enjoys his work as
Scoutmaster and is even
working to create a new
Cub Scout pack in Lyons.
“He organizes hiking and
other excursions monthly
and is a great role model
for boys within the troop,”
Nobles emphasized.
She gave an example
of this. “Kim and his troop
went down to Madison,
Florida, over the weekend
of September 16 to help
several families with de
bris clean-up and removal
when Hurricane Idalia
swept through,” she told
the audience.
In addition to all of
this, Stephens further men
tors youth through a part
nership with local school
systems in the work-based
learning program, which
helps to prepare students
for future employment.
Nobles wrapped up
her biography of Stephens,
sharing he had been a
sponsor of organizations,
such as the National Rifle
Association and National
Wild Turkey Federation,
and local events such as
The Real Squeal BBQ. &
Music Festival.
“Kim feels that giving
back to his community is
the right thing to do,” she
summarized. “He who is
persistent in his work to
ward success will wear a
crown. As President Ger
ald Ford said, ‘Boy, do we
need Scouting.’”
Keynote Address
Toombs County Mag
azine owner and Greater
Vidalia Chamber Chair-
Elect Stephanie Williams
presented the keynote ad
dress of the evening, as
she highlighted the impor
tance of community.
She explained that
the criteria for the Citizen
of the Year evaluated the
character, commitment to
the community of Lyons,
civic involvement, coop
eration with community
leaders, enthusiasm for
the city, and contribution
to the lives of other citi
zens. “When I look around
this room, I see many of
you who could easily fit
into that category because
there are a lot of unsung
heroes,” Williams empha
sized. “I mean, I see people
that have affected my life
for the last 45-50 years.
Maybe you volunteer at
The Real Squeal. Maybe
you help with blood drives.
There are a lot of ways that
people serve every day.”
Williams continued, “I
saw Jane Benton here, and
thought ‘Bless her heart.’
When I was in high school,
she used to have all of the
United Methodist youth
group over to her house
every night and would feed
us and teach us about Je
sus. People like that are real
leaders in the community
Please see Lyons page
18A
Light the grill and smoke
the tires, it's time for the
2023 Real Squeal BBQ
& Music Festival!
Beckum
Automotive
(912) 538-0062
600 Morris St.,Vidalia, Georgia 30474
maQ
BUILDINGS
3771 GA HIGHWAY 130 E