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Chamber Distributes Honors During Banquet

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Carroll County Chamber of Commerce held its annual Membership Banquet on Monday, October 22 at the Carroll County Civic Center. Among the honors presented were the Agri-Business Person of the Year, Carroll Countian of the Year, Businessperson of the Year, Business of the Year, and a special recognition.
Agri-Business/Farmer of Year
Brent Rice
Brent Rice was selected as the Agri-Business/Farmer of the Year. Agriculture plays a vital role in the county’s economy.
Brent is a native of Carroll County and graduated from Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central High School and now lives in Buena Vista.
Brent began farming full-time in 1988. He credits his father and his grandfather for “showing him the ropes” and leading him into the occupation, making him the third farming generation of his family. He works approximately 2,,300 acres at various locations in Carroll County and a portion inside Benton County. His crops include corn, soybeans, and cotton. He has three employees who assist him in his farming operations.
Brent is married to Carol, and they have two sons, Dan and Ryan.
Special Recognition
Kirsten Sass
The biggest change Brent has experienced since 1988 is the advancement in the technology of the equipment. Today’s machinery allows for much more efficiency and productivity in planting and harvesting the crops.
Kirsten Sass of McKenzie received the Special Recognition. Kirsten, She has brought recognition to her hometown of McKenzie and to Carroll County by being one of the best in her sport. Kirsten Sass is a world-class athlete in the sport of triathlon, a sport involving three separate disciplines: swimming, biking, and running.
Kirsten graduated from McKenzie High School. She attended college at the University of Western Ontario, where she earned a degree in biology. She later earned her accreditation as a physician assistant and joined her father in his practice in McKenzie.
Kirsten made her International Triathlon Union debut in 2009. Since that time she has racked up quite an impressive record. In 2013, she won her age group at the USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance National Championship, then placed second at the Sprint Nationals the next day. In seventeen starts since January of 2014, she has ten wins and has made the podium an impressive sixteen times. She is an accomplished athlete in her field.
Kirsten brought the triathlon to the forefront in Carroll County. Just last month, in September, the McKenzie Medical Center/Dixie triathlon was held with 300 triathletes participating. It was co-branded in memory of her late father, Volker. Kirsten could not participate because she was in Australia competing.
Kirsten is married to Jeff Sass and they have two children.
Business of the Year
Block City Pizza
Block City of McKenzie, Huntingdon, and Hollow Rock is the Business of the Year.
Block City Pizza is a family-owned and locally-owned business. Carroll County is fortunate to be home to three Block City Pizza locations.
Marvin and Shelly Lane opened the Hollow Rock location in 1994 with a menu consisting of pizza, subs, and salads.  The menu has since expanded to include other items. The Huntingdon location was added in October of 2000; it is owned and operated by Kirsten Lane. The third location in McKenzie opened on September 3, 2013, and is owned and operated by Matt Lane.

In a 2018 Facebook poll conducted by the Tennessee Department of Economic Development, Block City Pizza of McKenzie was voted Best Slice in the State.  
The Lanes are well-known for their generosity and civic-mindedness. They are great supporters of local area schools, churches, and community events. If we were to list the ways in which the Lane family has given back to the community, the list would be extensive. Schools and churches all across the county have benefited from Block City Pizza’s presence in Carroll County.
Twenty-four years ago, Marvin and Shelly Lane began giving young people their first job.  It is estimated that as many as a thousand young people have gotten their first work experience at Block City Pizza.  Their workforce has grown from three employees in their first year of business to forty-two.
Family is key to Marvin and Shelly Lane.  They have three children: son, Matt and daughters, Kirsten and Kayla.  As already mentioned, Matt and Kirsten work in the family business, and Kayla lives in Murfreesboro. The Lanes are members of McKenzie Church of Christ.  
Carroll Countian of Year
Glendon Rich
Glendon Rich is the 33rd individual recognized as the Carroll Countian of the Year. Glendon Rich is a life-long resident of Carroll County. He was born in Huntingdon, where he graduated from Huntingdon High School.
Glendon was a valued employee of Norandal in Huntingdon. He began his first day in 1967 and retired as Operations Manager after 35 years. During those 35 years, he was instrumental in helping to bolster the company’s efficiency and productivity.
Glendon was active in Carroll County youth sports. He has positively affected hundreds of youth through his coaching in Little League and Babe Ruth baseball, along with his tenure as president of the Little League.
Glendon Rich has consistently been an active presence in the Carroll County community. He is a founding member of the Huntingdon Jaycees, a member of Bethel Baptist Church. He is an outdoor sportsman, a hunter and a fisherman, and he loves to trap. He is fanatic about his St. Louis Cardinals, but his passion is his Mustangs.
But Glendon is proudest of his family. He and his wife, Pat of 55 years, have four children: a son, Neal; daughter, Paula Colvett and her husband,, Kelly; son, Matt and his wife, Amy; and son, Mark and wife, Shauna. They also have eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren—with another one on the way. Glendon has always been an active parent, proudly following his children’s activities and strongly supporting the school system. He also has three brothers and three sisters.
Business Person of Year
John Wright
John Wright is the 2018 recipient of the Business Person of the Year. He is the 39th such recipient.
John is the owner of Wright CPA Firm with offices in McKenzie and Huntingdon. He has worked at the same firm since January 1994.
John is originally from Decaturville, Tenn. and graduated as salutatorian of his class from Riverside High School. He graduated cum laude with a degree in Accounting from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Upon his college graduation, he went to work with Frank Burns. He became a licensed CPA in January 1999. He is also a partner/owner of 4Front Promotional Products as of March 2018.
John and his wife Josephine married June 1995 and have lived in McKenzie ever since. They have two teenage daughters, Olivia and Isabelle, who attend McKenzie High School.
The Wright family members are active at McKenzie First Baptist Church, where they have been members since 1996. John serves through various ministries at his church. He is a member of the finance committee, chaperones youth trips and events, sings in the praise team, and volunteers as a referee for the Upward basketball program. John and family were part of a team that traveled to Guatemala the last two years to minister to the Guatemalan people through the non-profit organization Clubhouse Guatemala.
John pinpoints the rise of technology in the accounting business, the growth of technology has proved to be the biggest change. Business is now handled electronically instead of on paper.
John offered this bit of free advice for potential business owners: Know your customer base and have enough cash flow available for at least six to twelve months when you start your business.