From left to right, Jim Butler, Hospital Board and KNIA/KRLS, Dr. Earl McKeever, Hospital CEO Kevin Kincaid, and Chamber Executive Director Josh McKenna.

Saturday night was the 55th Annual Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet.
After presentations by Executive Director Josh McKenna, Past President Mikol Sesker, and current President Annie Leonard, the Impact winners were announced. Those who received recognition were:
* Business IMPACT of the Year: Knoxville Hospital and Clinics
* Educator IMPACT of the Year: Jackie Duffy, High School Choral Director
* Agricultural IMPACT of the Year: Will Prather
* Volunteer IMPACT of the Year: Ernie Smith
* Matthew C. Job “Pride in Knoxville” Award: Lillie Brandon

Ernie Smith, Volunteer Impact Winner, Josh McKenna, and Annie Leonard, Chamber President


Will Prather, Agricultural Impact Winner, Josh McKenna, and Annie Leonard


Jackie Duffy, Educator Impact Winner, Josh McKenna, and Annie Leonard

Lillie Brandon, Matthew C. Job Pride in Knoxville Award Winner, Josh McKenna, and Annie Leonard
Here are the winner bios, written by Annie Leonard:
IMPACT Awards 2014, Presented February 21, 2015
Winner Bios
Business IMPACT of the Year,
Sponsored by Raceway Tire & Exhaust
The Winner of the 2014 Business IMPACT Award, sponsored by Raceway Tire and Exhaust, is one of Knoxville’s largest employers, has a rich history in the community, and a solid tradition of service that extends far beyond its primary mission.
The Knoxville Hospital & Clinics operates as a Critical Access Hospital, with 25 inpatient beds and 12 healthcare providers, and is now reinvesting in the community with a 15 million dollar expansion and renovation project expected to be completed later this year.
In addition to their crucial health care mission, the Knoxville Hospital and Clinics believes that community service and volunteerism are an important investment in the community. Employees are encouraged to volunteer, and are paid for their time while they do so. Hospital staff can be found working as Salvation Army Bell Ringers, at Helping Hands, running carriage rides during Living Windows, in community parades, with Meals on Wheels, in first aid tents at Nationals, helping with the Backpack Buddies food program, renovations at the Dixie Gephart House, and so much more.
When asked what it is about Knoxville that inspired their employees to work, live, and serve here, they answered, “A sense of community is one of the main reasons people choose Knoxville. It has the small town feel that makes a person feel like they fit in and are a part of something. Community support where you rally around a cause – Coaches vs. Cancer for example – is exceptional in Knoxville.”
When asked what advice they would give to other business owners they responded “You owe it to your community and your business to give back and get involved. Your personal involvement can help build loyalty and increase visibility, giving your customers another reason to support you and your business.’
As their nomination stated, ‘We could not survive as a community without the Knoxville Hospital and Clinics.’

Educator IMPACT of the Year
Jackie Duffy
Sponsored by Motor Inn of Knoxville
Jacqueline Rae Duffy
The Winner of the 2014 Educator IMPACT Award, sponsored by Motor Inn of Knoxville, has been the Knoxville High School Choral Director for over twenty years, consistently leading the Choir to Division I ratings. As her nomination said, ‘The arts play a central role in the education of our students, and Jackie Duffy has helped lead the way for a generation. The high school’s fall and winter concerts are gifts to the community, and the spring musical is a delight for all.’
Jacqueline directs the Concert and Chamber Choirs in a Fall Concert, a Winter Choral Concert, and a Pops Show. Jackie also directs and produces the annual spring musical. Once every four years, the combined choirs take a trip to New York to perform, and to take in a broadway show. Each year, the seniors from both choirs prepare a piece which they perform at graduation. Jackie’s students also participate in a variety of state-wide choral competitions, and regularly receive top ratings.
Not only does Jackie spend her days, and many evenings working for our children, she is also a member of Alpha Kappa sorority, is an accompanist at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, and an officer of the Knoxville Education Association. Jackie is also a proud member of the team that made the Knoxville Performing Arts Center a reality, and currently serves on the Bravo! Concert Series committee, which brings top quality performers to the Center.
Jackie says she is continually inspired by her students and the community’s response to their efforts, and is happy that the support of the Fine Arts have only grown stronger during her tenure here. She feels privileged to enrich students’ appreciation of the arts, and proud that many have chosen music and teaching as a profession. She believes that only through community involvement can you make where you live a better place.

Agricultural IMPACT of the Year
Will Prather
Sponsored by AgriVision
The Winner of the 2014 Agricultural IMPACT Award, sponsored by AgriVision, has been a leader and innovator not only in the business of agriculture, but has also served our community for decades as an educator, a businessman, a leader, and a volunteer. His work in spreading the message about No-till farming has had a real and lasting impact on Lake Red Rock and the farmground along the waterways that feed it.
Will came to Knoxville in 1953, where he taught for 14 years, and served as high school principal for another 13 years, before ‘retiring’ to pursue other adventures. Throughout his career in education, Will also worked as a farmer. Over the years, he became a strong proponent of soil and water conservation, and was the first farmer to adopt and practice no-till farming in our area in 1979. In the 1980s and 90s, Will and his wife, Susan,also owned and operated Strawberry Hill farm north of Knoxville.
In 2004, Will began a campaign to ‘Save the Lake, Save the Land.” raising awareness of the causes and effects of the siltation of Lake Red Rock and the loss of valuable farm land. He advocates that no-till is the easiest and least costly solution to keep our soil in place. He has given over 100 presentations on the subject, has authored articles, and has been featured in regional newspapers and magazines.
But Will’s contributions to our community don’t stop there. He has participated in two major land developments, has served on the Knoxville Farmer’s Co-Op, the Chamber of Commerce Board, Kiwanis, Rotary, the Knoxville Heritage Foundation, the Red Rock Lake Association, and the County Conservation Board, to name just a few!
When we asked Will what he likes best about living her, he responded that Knoxville is a great and accepting community that nevertheless struggles to maintain itself and grow. He says it behooves us all to get involved when and where we can.

Volunteer IMPACT of the Year
Ernie Smith
Sponsored by Randy & Sheryl Chambers of Iowa Realty
The Winner of the 2014 Volunteer IMPACT Award, sponsored by Randy and Sheryl Chambers of Iowa Realty, is another shining example of community service. For decades, he has worked with singular passion on projects to preserve our heritage, to beautify the town, and to make our community a better place for children.
Throughout his life, Ernie has believed in serving his community. He has been a member of the Marion County Historical Society and Knoxville Morning Kiwanis. He designed and helped build the gazebo at the Bessie Spaur Butterfly Garden, was tool coordinator and fundraiser for the Auld Park Playground project, he headed up the committee to save the Bussey Wabash Depot, which now sits in the Marion County Historical Village. Ernie put together a coalition to build a memorial honoring Dixie Cornell Gephart on the Courthouse lawn, and most recently, he is the passionate driving force in organizing and fundraising for the Kiwanis Miracle Playground at Young’s Park.
The Miracle Playground sits on 11 acres and will be handicap accessible for all children to enjoy. Ernie has shown great leadership by writing grants, and has spent countless hours representing the Knoxville Morning Kiwanis at many a meeting to raise funds and awareness about the project. To date, the Miracle Playground project has raised over $70,000, and two of the four planned phases are complete. Ask Ernie about the details, I’m sure he’ll be glad to tell you all about how you can get involved!
When asked what he loves about Knoxville, Ernie says he is inspired by the community’s devotion to service, and his advice to other volunteers is ‘Remember your passion for your project, and keep in mind that there are two kinds of people, the givers and the takers. As volunteers, we get to be the givers.”
Over the years, Ernie has earned a wall full of service awards, but he tells us that the award he wanted the most is the one he is receiving tonight! We are so glad we get to be the Givers tonight, Ernie!

Matthew C Job ‘Pride in Knoxville’ Award
Lillie Brandon
Sponsored by Iowa State Savings Bank
The 2014 Matthew C Job ‘Pride in Knoxville’ Award, sponsored by Iowa State Savings Bank, is given to people or groups who make a real difference in our community and who make us proud to be from Knoxville! This year’s winner definitely fits the bill! She is a woman who has gone above and beyond, month after month for for many years, preparing food for the hungry.
Thirteen years ago, Lillie Brandon noticed that many of the elderly were being forced to choose between buying food and buying medicine when their social security funds ran low at the end of the month. This inspired her to found the organization known as ‘End of the Month Meals’, which prepares meals for those in need for the last seven days of each month. Lillie and a team of volunteers at New Covenant Church make about 1000 meals each month, all winter long. Living Word Fellowship has joined the project by opening the doors to their community room during that week, to serve meals to the hungry, and several delivery routes are also serve. This project is strictly funded by donations, and Lillie says that ‘God has always provided.’
Lillie grew up in Marion County, and graduated from Twin Cedars High School. She worked first for the Cable company, then began her career with the Iowa State Savings Bank investment office, where she retired in 2011. As part of her work with the bank, Lillie began organizing and leading the very popular Premier Travel Club excursions, and continues that project even after retirement. In addition to her work with End of the Month Meals, she also volunteers with Hospice. Lillie has been married to Dave Brandon for 51 years, and they have 3 children, and 9 awesome grandchildren.
Lillie is proud of this community and of her work with ‘End of the Month Meals, and considers the opportunity to serve and to work with the other volunteers a great blessing. She appreciates the awesome willingness of the Knoxville community to step up and work for the good of the less fortunate.
When asked what she would say to other volunteers, she answered, ‘you can not do anything more rewarding than serving your community.”