The recipient of the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award is Harry “Hap” Harwell Jr., who was to receive the award this week in a ceremony at the Westin Chattanooga.
Since 1922, the Distinguished Service Award has been presented annually in recognition of an individual’s leadership and service to the Chattanooga community. A Tennessee native and graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Harwell has long been making noteworthy contributions in his professional and volunteer roles.
Early in his career, Harwell was the first supervisor at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to manage a desegregated production line – a line which became the most productive one in the company.
Harwell later moved to Mobile, Alabama, to work for South Central Bell, where he managed and integrated its residential division. In Mobile, he served as president of the Industrial Management Association, president of the Sertoma Club, an officer on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and an elder of the First Christian Church.
In 1970, Harwell moved to Chattanooga to begin his career with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, Governor Winfield Dunn appointed him to the Tennessee and Georgia Health Care Commission to address regional health care issues. He served in that role for five years.
A lifelong volunteer, Harwell has served as president of the boards of the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, the American Heart Association, Chattanooga Goodwill Industries and the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga. He has also served on numerous other boards, including those of the American Red Cross, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Greater Chattanooga.
Harwell was instrumental in forming both the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, an organization that works to facilitate the rehabilitation of both victims of crime and juvenile criminals, and Goodwill’s HELP program, which grants patients access to medical equipment at no cost.
Harwell is an active member of the Church of the Good Shepherd and a teacher for the Education for Ministry program of the University of the South School of Theology.
Many community members may recognize Harwell from his weekly visits to the Children’s Hospital. For 20 years, he and his pet therapy dogs have walked the halls, bringing humor and wagging tails to the children and families receiving care.
Source: Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga