2023 Beltonian Award -
Joe Shepperd

Joe Shepperd is a successful and influential businessman and developer, but his passion is making our community better for families. He has volunteered his service on numerous boards, including 6 years on the Belton School Board, 14 years on the Belton Economic Development Corporation Board, as well as the Reinvestment Board representing BISD, Belton Educational Enrichment Foundation, Bell County Appraisal Board, Miller Springs Nature Alliance, Belton Christian Youth Center, and more.

Joe passionately believes as a community we have an obligation to support families, and his dedication to youth programs and opportunities for children and families to thrive is notable.
​
Joe has demonstrated longtime achievement in volunteer service to the Belton community. His service has covered the range of education, service organization, youth programs, and multiple areas that have improved the quality of life in our area. Our community is better because of Joe Shepperd, so it is fitting and appropriate that we thank him for a lifetime of service to our community.

2023 Citizen of the Year -
Terri Covington

The Citizen of the Year award is given to the person who made a significant contribution to the community through Chamber related activities during the previous year.
​
Terri Covington has distinguished herself as a highly respected servant leader in our community. She has served on numerous boards and advisory committees in support of our community, including serving on the Chamber Board of Directors for the past six years, and as Chair in 2020, an especially challenging year for us all.
​
Terri is a strong supporter of the Chamber, encouraging others to join and actively participate, and always leading by example. If you know Terri, you understand that when she speaks, people listen. She is knowledgeable, insightful, wise, and dedicated to investing in our community to make it better for us all. Her example of service and leadership in our community is truly exceptional.

2023 Community Partner -
ASCO Equipment – Belton

ASCO Equipment in Belton has proven to be an important partner with the Chamber and City in support of our many events. Spencer Ridgway has served as the Branch Manager for many years, leading and serving in a way that promotes the ASCO mission to be a blessing to those they serve. They take that mission seriously, and we benefit greatly from their investment in our community.

ASCO is actively involved in providing needed equipment for many downtown area events, including the 4th of July Celebration Kickoff Downtown Street Party, and Christmas on the Chisholm Trail. They provide power generators, lifts, lighting, and more – whatever is needed to make our community events successful.
​
While ASCO provides a variety of equipment needs throughout our community, what many people think of about ASCO is the annual Spartacus Dash, held each year in Liberty Park to challenge our athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It also serves as a significant fund raiser for local non-profit organizations such as Foster Love, Belton Senior Center, and BCYC.

2023 Community Partner -
Belton First United Methodist Church

Belton First United Methodist Church has a long history of community service, including a variety of events and activities reaching into our community, such as the annual Back to School with God providing school supplies, Project Celebration, Wednesday lunch for college students, Halloween Trunk or Treat, Community Christmas Party, and ongoing support of Helping Hands Ministry.

In addition, there are a couple of ways that we want to specifically recognize this evening. Last year the Belton Area Chamber of Commerce became the designated Charter Organization for Boy Scout Troop 117 and Cub Scout Pack 117, however, BFUMC has continued to serve as the host for our local scouting programs, allowing use of their facilities for meetings and events.

And recently, to help address the needs of a growing community and the ensuing parking challenges of increased local businesses in the area, BFUMC agreed to have their church parking lot designated as public parking through a partnership with the City of Belton. This is a significant partnership working together to meet a community need through shared resources.

2023 Ambassador of the Year -
​Meredith Duke

Meredith Duke is an Associate Broker for Duke Realty, serving our area real estate needs with a motto of “Love Your Neighbor.”
​
Meredith has been a great Ambassador, readily volunteering when needed, enthusiastically supporting whatever is going on, and not letting her busy schedule prevent her from serving where she can. She is a willing servant leader, including sponsoring community events supporting non-profit agencies. Meredith is also a member of Leadership Belton and has been a great representative not only of her business, but also of the Chamber and our community.

2023 Business of the Year -
Railway Express Diner

Jay and Christi Williams have been successful because of the quality of their food and their commitment to excellent customer service. They have a very loyal customer base, and have three businesses: Wat Tha Truck, Railway Express Diner, and The Katy Deli.

Jay and Christi have distinguished themselves as valued community partners through their involvement and support of other local businesses and organizations, and their investment in making our community better. They are “all in” for Belton!

Whether it’s hosting a Business After Hours, wearing a Grinch costume to promote other downtown businesses and Christmas on the Chisholm Trail, or partnering with other businesses to bring people to Belton, Jay and Christi are great examples of being creative and resourceful in their promotion of our community.
​
Another notable example of their commitment to serving our community is the Thanksgiving dinner they provided free of charge to all who came. They also had a similar effort for Christmas this year. That’s community service at another level.

2023 Business of the Year - TRU - Belton

TRU – part of Clayton Homes, provides housing for thousands of people throughout the southwest region they serve.

We have had the opportunity to take our Leadership Belton groups on tour of the facilities to experience the impressive efficiency and production of their teams. They currently have 467 team members working at the two home building facilities, producing and shipping thousands of homes each year. As one of Belton’s largest employers, they certainly have a significant economic impact on our community, and they are job creators and workforce developers.

But what sets them apart and led to them receiving this special recognition is how they have invested in the community, and the example they are to other businesses.

TRU welcomes student groups into their facilities, providing CTE students with opportunities to learn about career options. They collected over 3,000 pounds of food to donate to Helping Hands Ministry during a recent food drive.
​
And TRU has a policy of paying their team members up to 8 hours to participate in community service activities. Many go beyond that, and in the past year their team members provided 2,184 hours of community service, working in places such as Miller Springs and other local parks, and in various non-profit organizations. In addition, TRU answered the call on short notice when we needed to replace some of our 4th of July volunteers. They came, they served, and they made a difference.
What a great example of investing in community. They have a large workforce so their impact is significant, but just imagine if every business invested 8 hours per employee in community service each year. What kind of impact would that have, both on the employees and on the community?

2023 Community Economic Impact Award - MK&T Holdings LLC

As we looked back over the year, it was clear to us all that in a year filled with growth, there was a significant development that stood out in regard to economic growth and quality of life in Belton: the renovation of the Belton MK&T Depot & Katy. Made possible by MK&T Holdings, LLC.

The renovation honored the historical significance of these buildings while creating modern and comfortable spaces for people to gather. As the extraordinary renovation commenced, there was ongoing interest in what would occupy the facilities.

In 2023, 10 new locally owned and operated businesses opened in the MK&T Depot & Katy: the Railway Express Diner, the Katy Deli, Off the Rails Wine Bar, 100x35 Latin Cuisine, Sly Fox Coffee House, Warm Cookie Company, Blackbird Books and Spirits, Pizza PieRos, Early Light Creperie, and Z&H Candy.

2023 ​Servant Guardian Leadership  -
​Chief Gene Ellis

Chief Gene Ellis has had an extraordinary influence in our community during his time serving as Chief of Police and Assistant City Manager.

With a law enforcement career spanning 34 years, Chief Ellis has served as Belton’s Chief of Police for 14 years, and as Assistant City Manager for the past 9 years, supervising Parks and Recreation, Library Services, Communications, and Information Technology. He will continue to expand his influence as the Executive Director for the Texas Police Chiefs Association.

During his tenure here, Chief Ellis has been responsible for many things, including everyone’s highest priority – keeping Belton safe. Last year, we recognized him along with our School Resource Officers for how they responded to safety concerns with an Oath of Protection for our educators. This is a great example of how his leadership has made a significant difference in our community.
​
Through his leadership, Chief Ellis has developed a culture focusing on community engagement and customer service. “Servant Guardian” is a term he has used to describe his officers, as he implemented a community policing model that emphasizes servant leadership. 

2023 Legendary Impact Award -
Tim Stephens

Tim Stephens came to Belton 30 years ago to serve as the Executive Director for the Bell County Expo, now Cadence Bank Center. He and his wife Beverly, sunk deep roots in our community, investing in our kids and schools especially. Beverly was a long-time counselor at Belton High School, and Tim served 6 years on the Belton School Board. They have been leaders in youth and church activities for decades.

Under Tim’s leadership, this complex has hosted tens of thousands of events over the years, as diverse as concerts, sporting events, horse and cattle shows, craft fairs, graduation ceremonies, rodeos, and whatever else you can imagine – it’s been here. It’s even served as a humanitarian and staging area for victims of natural disasters.

The Bell County Youth Fair was the original prompt for this building, and because of the work of Tim’s team, we have seen thousands of kids learn and grow through that experience. That’s a generational impact.
​
When we talk about promoting economic growth and quality of life, this complex, under Tim’s leadership, leads the way. We would not be where we are without this. I know they’ve done studies to measure fiscal impact, but the full impact is truly immeasurable.