The medical community of Athens has been selected as the 2020 Citizens of the Year for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Athens Citizen of the Year is selected by a committee composed of those who won the award the previous five years. For 2020, that was Drew Douglas, Willie Robson, Milburn Chaney, Freddie Paul, and Steve Barksdale.
"We're excited about recognizing these citizens that have been in the trenches for us and have served us well," said Barksdale. "They have earned the right to be Citizen of the Year."
(Listen to Steve Barksdale in the clip above.)
To highlight the front line workers who served Athens through the pandemic, the committee partnered with Hannigan Media and the Athens Daily Review to conduct a series of interviews spotlighting major areas of the medical sector. Those included:
Doctors: Henderson County Medical Association President Dr. Michael Swartwood.
Nurses: Park Highlands Nurse Manager Brook Murff.
Clinical: Lakeland Medical Nurse Manager Alexis Odom.
Non-Clinical: Blake Daniels of Daniels Partners.
First Responders: UT Health East Texas EMS Regional Director Todd Loper.
Administration: UT Health East Texas Athens CEO Scott Campbell.
The interviews paint the picture of a medical community grappling with an event that was never expected and dealing with unprecedented pressure and emotions.
"The heartache is something, I think, really I've seen our doctors and our personnel go through," said Barksdale. "But they just keep going, they keep going back. They keep being resilient."
Here are the interviews I conducted.
Dr. Michael Swartwood
Blake Daniels
Todd Loper
Brook Murff
Alexis Odom
Scott Campbell
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Hannigan Media is sponsored by: Athens Screen Printing, Tinsley Law & Title, Gibson Pharmacy, Avco Roofing, and Super 8 Athens.
