Nominate a good neighbor for annual award
January 14, 2022

KNOXVILLE - The City’s next Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year could live right next door.

Annually since 2013, the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment has invited residents to nominate a deserving neighbor for this honor. The slate of winning neighbors includes individuals who:

• installed a little library and instituted a program to help neighbors improve their health;
• spearheaded creation of a formal neighborhood organization;
• organized fun activities that strengthened neighbors’ connections to each other and grew the organizations’ numbers
• convened neighbors and local authorities to solve a neighborhood traffic issue
• freely used their own pickup truck to help neighbors haul items

These examples of kindness, generosity and neighborliness were all characteristics of Diana Conn, an Old Sevier Community Group member who inspired the award and was its first recipient, posthumously, in 2013.

What else do these winners and nominees have in common?

“They are not self promoters,” says Neighborhood Coordinator Debbie Sharp. “A key reason this award was created was to bring attention to those neighbors who are doing a lot of the work that makes neighborhoods great behind the scenes and without a lot of fanfare. We want to champion their achievements.”

Nomination forms are posted at it.ly/GoodNeighborAward. The submission deadline is Friday, Jan. 21. The winner and nominees will be recognized at the 2022 Neighborhood Conference, being held Saturday, April 2, at the Knoxville Convention Center.