If you know someone in the Hopkinsville-Christian County area who’s making a difference to improve the community through his/her dedication to human relations, please nominate them for the Hal & Bettye Thurmond Award presented by the Hopkinsville Human Relations Commission.  Nominations, along with a brief bio of explanation, must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, October 5, 2009, by email to bstandard@hopkinsvilleky.us, by fax to (270) 885-0018, or by mail to Hopkinsville Human Relations Commission at 101 North Main Street, Hopkinsville, KY 42240. 

The award is named for Hal Thurmond and his wife Bettye whose work to integrate housing, lunch counters and public schools and to improve race relations in Christian County in the 1950s and ‘60s earned them a posthumous induction into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in the fall of 2006.  Owner of Blue Lake Block Co. and president of the local Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Thurmond demonstrated his commitment to the civil rights movement by helping to establish the Human Relations Commission, for which Bettye became executive director. 

The 2009 Hal & Bettye Thurmond Award winner will be honored at the Mayor’s Unity Breakfast on Wednesday, October 21^st at 7:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church located at 1305 South Main Street.  To purchase tickets, please call (270) 890-0200.

Past Hal & Bettye Thurmond Award winners include:

2008       Charles Turner

2007       Suzy Schlegel

2006       Mary Smith