By Rick Phelps
The 110th annual Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet was an emotional event as several were recognized for work in the community and remembering those lost in the last year. The highest honor presented each year, the Groner Pitts “Lifetime of Service” Award, was presented to Jane Ellen Jamar, the matriarch of the KOXE family.
Jamar, who was born in San Antonio to Wendell Wise and Dorothy Lydia Mayes, spent her formative years in Brownwood, attending Coggin Elementary, Brownwood Junior High and Brownwood High School. In 1947, she married William (Bill) Wallace Jamar. The two were married for 55 years until William’s passing in 2003.
The couple moved to Brownwood in 1949 and in 1975, founded KOXE FM. Other business ventures included owning and operating 22 radio stations and other properties including the Brownwood Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Big Tex Outdoor Advertising, the Mineral Wells Index, Palo-Pinto Star, Paul’s Valley TV Cable Vision in Paul’s Valley, Okla., SCAT Cable TV in Snyder, Corsicana Cable TV as well as Haskell, Munday and Stamford Cable TV. The couple also owned KSNY AM and FM in Snyder and KOXE AM in Austin.
As a 2008 recipient of the Girl Scouts of Central Texas “Women of Distinction” Award, Jamar has been heavily involved in the community for several years. Jamar is one of the 1955 founders of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Brownwood. Other civic involvement includes the Star of Texas Juried Art Exhibit, Brownwood Woman’s Club, Brownwood Regional Medical Center Auxiliary and many more.
Other award winners from Thursday’s banquet were:
Man of the Year – Chip Camp
Woman of the Year – Angelia Bostick
Professional of the Year – Mike Corley
Volunteer of the Year – Aaron, Rowonna and Kiera McNeely (first time in history a family has won this award)
Community Partner of the Year – VFW Post 3278 and Men’s and Ladies Auxiliaries
Stuart Coleman Good Neighbor – Jill Bastardo and Amanda Leija
Stuart Coleman Good Neighbor (Posthumous) – Don Bostic and Dee Reynolds
Special Community Appreciation Award – Jim Keffer
Ambassador of the Year – Jimmy Trowbridge
Small Business of the Year – Coldwell Banker, Mark Campbell and Associates
Medium Business of the Year – Big Country Ford
Large Business of the Year – Ingram Concrete
Other recognized at the banquet were those involved with the Total Resource Campaign and the 2016 Leadership Brownwood class. Outgoing chamber chairman of the board Tim Espinoza officially handed off his duties to incoming chairman Daniel Hutson.
This year’s banquet was the first time in a decade that the event was sold out.