Community Relations Council recognizes 2023 Human Relations Award winners

The City of Hickory Community Relations Council (CRC) honored the recipients of the CRC’s Human Relations Awards during the Todos Somos América Festival held in downtown Hickory on Sept. 24.

The annual Human Relations Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and businesses that go “above and beyond” in promoting good human relations in the City of Hickory. 

Congratulations to the two award recipients selected for this year: Foothills Veterans Helping Veterans and Tracy Ray.

Foothills Veterans Helping Veterans (FVHV) is a volunteer group of men and women dedicated to helping veterans and their families throughout Hickory and the foothills of western North Carolina. FVHV believes no one who has served our country should be homeless, needy, nor forgotten. FVHV connects vets and their families to a network of community resources such as housing, healthcare, employment, education and training opportunities, transportation, and other needs.

Tracy Ray is an active Ridgeview community member that works for the betterment of the city and volunteers his time in many capacities within his church and the Hickory community. He is president of the Ridgeview Men of Action, a group of Ridgeview residents that helps young men to think positively and do positive things. He encourages youth participation in sports and helped create the One Purpose Parks and Recreation Council, as a successor to the Ridgeview Recreation Council. Over the years, he has coached basketball teams at Grandview Middle School and Hickory High School, as well as assisted with the Dee Dee Dawkins Basketball League and Hickory Housing Authority Say No to Drugs Basketball Team. He wants to see all children succeed and volunteers his time to help young members of the community participate in available programs, take advantage of local resources, and tour prospective colleges and universities to further their education.

The City of Hickory and the CRC congratulate the Human Relations Award recipients and commend them for the important work they do to bring people together. 

For more information about the Community Relations Council or the Human Relations Awards, please contact staff liaison Captain Philip Demas with the Hickory Police Department at pdemas@hickorync.gov or 828-261-2608.

Photo credit: Barbechos Photography