At the monthly Forney Chamber of Commerce meeting in March, the Chamber recognized Keith Bell as Forney's Citizen of the Year. They also gave the Helping Hand Award to Community Life Church and the Mustang Creek Community Church.
At the monthly Forney Chamber of Commerce meeting in March, the Chamber recognized Keith Bell as Forney's Citizen of the Year. They also gave the Helping Hand Award to Community Life Church and the Mustang Creek Community Church.
Citizen of the Year
Keith Bell is the founder and owner of Intex Electric and he currently serves as the President of the Forney ISD School Board. He was recognized for his leadership through the tough economic time the school district faced. Bell helped teach other school districts the lessons Forney ISD learned through their financial crisis. He led the Texas Association of School Boards presentation titled “What Every School Board Member Needs to Know About School Finance.” He also remains active in the Forney Education Leadership Foundation which provides $500 scholarships to each Forney ISD graduating senior.
Mr. Bell gave the following statement to inForney.com, "While I deeply appreciate the recent honor of 'Citizen of the Year' from the Forney Chamber Commerce, I share this recognition with the students, staff, administration and Board of Trustees of Forney ISD. Without the support of my family and the confidence of all our stakeholders, these successes could not have been realized."
Mr. Bell is actively engaged in assisting and sponsoring local organizations with his donations, time, and support. He will soon be graduating with a degree from Dallas Baptist University. His nomination for Citizen of the Year described Mr. Bell like this, “While anyone can lead in “good times”, it takes a special individual to step up and lead in turmoil, facing unpopular decisions and adversity – with integrity, strong values, and humbleness. Keith Bell has done this for Forney in 2012, and he is the most deserving of Citizen of the Year.”
Related: Three Forney businesses given Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year awards
Helping Hand Award
The Helping Hand Award was given to two Forney churches that stepped up in a big way in the aftermath of the devastating EF-3 tornado that struck Forney on April 3, 2012. The two churches joined forces to lead the cleanup and recovery effort, beginning their efforts on April 4. Mustang Creek Community Church took the lead of handling volunteer work and cleanup crews while coordinating thousands of volunteers in assisting the Diamond Creek neighborhood.
The nomination of the two churches reads, “While Mustang Creek handled the volunteers, Community Life Church (more affectionately known as C-Life) handled the tons of donations being shipped to Forney from all parts of the country. With an army of volunteers themselves, C-Life organized and distributed thousands of relief items to the residents affected by the tornado and thousands of volunteers converging for the clean-up efforts.”
The two churches showed incredible leadership and were assisted by Fellowship Forney and Lake Pointe Church as well as others, to help Forney recover quickly and successfully in the days and months after the tornado.