Two Recipients Announced For Joe B. Avery Award

The City of Arkansas City is proud to announce that two recipients were honored with the 2024 Joe B. Avery Community Spirit Award at a presentation held on October 22, 2024, at USD 470’s Avery Learning Center. This year’s honorees are Angels in the Attic and Tammy Lanman-Henderson.

Angels in the Attic
Angels in the Attic is a nonprofit organization serving Cowley County by addressing immediate needs and providing ongoing support. Their thrift store, located at 109 S. Summit, and Outreach Center at 410 S. Summit St., fund various programs through donations, grants, and community support from individuals, churches, and civic organizations.

The organization offers services such as food assistance, clothing through the Angel Closet, financial aid for prescriptions, rental and utility help, and seasonal programs like Back to School supplies, Warm Coats/Happy Hearts, and Santa’s Kids, which provides Christmas gifts for area children. They also offer job search assistance, healthy cooking classes, and Birthday in a Box kits for families.

From January to August 2024, Angels in the Attic served 246 households and 683 individuals in Arkansas City. The organization provided rent assistance to 95 households and utility assistance to 256 households.

Tammy Lanman-Henderson
Tammy Lanman-Henderson has been a devoted community servant for many years. Her past leadership roles include serving as president and vice president of the USD 470 High School Site Council Committee, as well as on the Arkansas City Police Department’s interview, training, and hiring committee.

Currently, she serves as the FEMA Shelter Supervisor at Adams Elementary School and sits on the Board of Directors for the Cowley County Council on Aging.

Lanman-Henderson has also played a significant role in the City’s Human Relations Committee, working alongside Joe Avery before the committee merged with the ADA Committee to form the Equal Employment Opportunity Accessibility Advisory Board, where she now serves as chair.

In addition, she chairs the Tacolalah Committee, is the vice-chair of the Outstanding Student Award Committee and is a board member of the Kansas Bluegrass Association. She has also been actively involved in USD 470’s special committee on bullying and harassment and chairs the Joe B. Avery Community Spirit Award Committee.

Joe B. Avery, a former member of the Arkansas City Human Relations Commission, passed away in 2008 and was the first recipient of the award named in his honor. This award is given annually to a community member who exemplifies the values of community spirit, service, and diversity, as selected by a city-appointed committee. It recognizes individuals who enhance the lives of others through service and a passion for fostering cooperation and humanitarianism within Arkansas City.

Criteria for the Joe B. Avery Community Spirit Award include:

• Significant humanitarian contributions to Arkansas City.
• Residence in Cowley County for at least five years.
• Achievements that have had a lasting impact on Arkansas City, going beyond the nominee’s line of work.

Past recipients include:

• 2009: Joe B. Avery and Bruce Watson
• 2010: Dr. Nick Rogers
• 2011: Pastor James Watson Jr.
• 2012: James Fry
• 2013: Curtis Freeland
• 2014: Delphia Jennings
• 2015: Kerry Schnackenberg
• 2016: Jim and Carol Owens
• 2017: Carlla Pike, Kalin Taylor, and Rob Carroll’s Sandblasting & Painting
• 2018: Christopher and Mitchell Gingher
• 2019: Jill Hunter
• 2020: Mike Evinger
• 2021: Anita Judd-Jenkins and Foss Farrar
• 2022: Rags Smith
• 2023: Robin Henderson

To nominate someone for the Joe B. Avery Community Spirit Award, contact Tiffany Parsons, City Clerk, at (620) 441-4412 or tparsons@arkansascityks.gov