Outstanding residents awarded for service

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

Three important distinctions were awarded to Mesquite residents last week at a City Council meeting held on Tuesday evening, Feb. 13.

Two of these awards, the Distinguished Citizen of the Year and the Volunteer of the Year, were presented by the City of Mesquite.

The third, was the Flag Award given by the Virgin Valley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

The 2023 Distinguished Citizen of the Year award went to Jean Watkins. Watkins was lauded for founding the Ms. Senior Mesquite Pageant in 2005 and the Mesquite Showgirls organization in 2011. She is also the founder of the Mesquite Womens History and Culture Center (WHCC) which she started in 2018.
“I’ve known Jean for almost 20 years now, and all of her community involvement would fill pages,” said Mesquite Mayor Al Litman during the presentation.

Litman said that the WHCC has been “leading the way for future generations.”
“Jean has contributed to social progress and the creation of happiness while creating an attractive society, as well as becoming a great inspiration for others,” Litman added. “She has had a significant positive impact on the community.”

Watkins was nominated for the award by Carol White who also came forward at the meeting to help present the award.

In a brief address, Watkins expressed gratitude for the recognition. “I really appreciate the support and I want you all to know what an honor it is for me to be part of what makes Mesquite special,” she said.

Litman also presented the 2023 Volunteer of the Year award to local CERT member Don Gordon.
“Don is a volunteer who is extremely dedicated and consistent month after month, year after year,” Litman said. “That type of volunteer is a rare find and we want to acknowledge his dedication to our team.”

Gordon credited his fellow CERT members in the award and recognized the importance of the program being a community-wide effort. “Everything I might have accomplished has been on the backs of all my fellow CERT members,” he said. “Without them it coulcn’t have been done.”

In the third presentation of the evening, Virgin Valley DAR member Leigh Roessner stepped forward to present the Chapter’s flag award to Exchange Club of Mesquite President Paul Benedict.

Roessner recognized Benedict as being a U.S. Air Force veteran who moved to Mesquite from New Jersey 23 years ago. In addition he has been a member of the Exchange Club for 10 years and served as its President for the past three years, she said.

“We wanted to thank Paul for his many years of volunteer work in our community,” Roessner said. “But the work that he is probably best known for is the presentation of 1,000 Flags of Mesquite, which was displayed for its 17th year this past November.”