The Marion Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating its mission, members and community at its 102nd annual awards celebration on Friday, January 20, 2023, at The Pavilion in Marion. The program will feature presentations by the Chamber, elected officials, and 2022 award winners.

One of the awards that will be given during the event is the Citizen of the Year Award, which is given to individual who has shown significant contribution to our community and who has excelled in a field outside of the Chamber.

Members of the Marion Chamber of Commerce were asked to submit nominations from October-November for the award. This year, the Chamber opened up the selection of the winner to its membership through voting that began in November and ended December 1.

The 2022 Citizen of the Year Award finalists are:

·       Kerry Martin

·       Terance Henry

·       Anthony Franks

Kerry Martin

Martin grew up in Salem, Illinois, and attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He graduated from SIU with his teaching degree in 1987 and then earned his Master’s degree in Educational Administration in 2000. He has been married to his wife, Tracey, for 37 years and they have two adult children, Andrea Borum of Carterville and David of St. Louis. Martin was a teacher for 33 years in the public school system at four different schools. He spent four years at Sparta High School, three at Flora, eight at Carterville and 18 at Marion where he retired in 2019. He has continued coaching since retirement and just completed his 33 year as a head coach. He is currently working again for the Marion Unit 2 District serving as a part-time assistant administrator. Martin has worked collectively for 38 years in the public school system. He and his wife attend Cornerstone Church in Marion. 

As an educator, he was a finalist for the Channel One News Teacher/Coach of the year in 1995 and he won the KFVS 12 Teacher of the Year award in 1998. He was elected to the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013, the Salem High School Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Southern Illinois Coaches Hall of Fame in 2019. He has won more than 230 high school football games as a head coach, won a State Championship at Carterville in 1996, and qualified for the play-offs in 27 of his 33 head coaching seasons including 17 straight at Marion. He has won coach of the year awards on nine occasions throughout his career. 

Off the field, Martin has been an active participant in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as an athlete and coach for almost 40 years. He has served as a huddle leader at each school he has taught and also served on the Southern Illinois FCA board. In 1997, he was awarded the “John Cherry Huddle Leader of the Year Award.” Martin has been active in civic and charitable causes using his football programs to give back to their communities. Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, Knights of Columbus, Veterans on Parade, Mayfield tornado relief efforts, the Haven House veterans home and Hospice of Southern Illinois have all been a part of their give back to the community efforts. He also worked to begin one of the area’s first high school “Pink Out” Games which over the past decade have raised thousands of dollars for Unit two families battling cancer. 

“I have been blessed by great parents, siblings, my wife and my children that’s for sure, but I also include the blessings of living and working in some amazing communities like Marion. The support, respect and the willingness to serve others is second to none. Whether raising a family, building a career or enjoying retirement, Marion has the small town feel with bigger city opportunities. It is truly a special place to call home,” Martin said.

Terance Henry

 As the original IT Director for the City of Marion, Henry has overseen all things technology based for the city including keeping all of the various departments online and functioning safely and efficiently for more than a decade. He brainstorms with each department to help them continue to move forward in an ever-changing technological landscape. Henry is responsible for the development of the City of Marion mobile app and networking laptops in the squad cars of the Marion Police Department, so they can be more mobile in the community. He has been nationally recognized by Arlington cemetery for his innovative GIS program that enables community members to search for their loved one’s gravesites more easily at the Marion cemetery using a GPS-based system.

           Henry found himself on his own at the early age of fifteen. While unprepared for adulthood, he was determined to pursue his education. After graduation he went on to obtain a licensed practical nursing degree from John A. Logan College and received a full scholarship to finish as a registered nurse at Southeastern Illinois College. Like many young parents, during his college career, Henry found himself torn between the weight of providing for his family and completing his education. In 2003, halfway through the program, he decided to step away to focus on his family and his booming side business, T-Bay’s, Southern Illinois’ very first ecommerce business.

 “It’s an honor and a privilege,” said Henry in relation to being named the 2022 APOGEE: Defying Gravity Transformational Leadership Award recipient. “To me giving back to the community and working to inspire others has been a part of my life since high school.”

Anthony Franks

Franks and his wife, Padra, are a power couple in Marion. It is important to say first that they moved away to Atlanta years ago and came to the conclusion that Marion is the place they want to live and raise their two young children. Padra, in a summer interview with the Daily Republican, said "We want our kids to finish high school and see Southern Illinois as a place they can live and thrive if they choose to do so.”

Franks returned to Marion with a desire to make a difference not only for his family but the community.

John Holst met Franks as a member of the Boyton Street Board of Directors.

“Anthony dreams big and then sets his eyes on putting the right people and the right amount of energy into those events and projects he creates and supports,” Holst said.

In Atlanta, Franks and Padra owned a successful construction company. That success is now within their new construction company, Yellow Door, in Marion.  

Franks firmly believes that success is directly related to a sense of pride, born out of hard work which creates a sense of accomplishment. This past spring, Franks created a movement called "Spruce up SoILL.” The first project was John Willie Jones Park. Using the excitement already in the Marion downtown community, Franks dreamed to put a mural at Jones' Park, and the basketball court was going to be the place. A local muralist, Maddie Dieters, became the choice to create such a design. It took 42 volunteers, 15 local sponsors, and a 15-year-old prodigy 14 hours to work magic on the first project of a new initiative to transform the basketball court at the park into a work of art. Now that's community building!