CRESTVIEW — A crowded City Council chamber erupted in applause as City Clerk Betsy Roy announced long-time community worker Mary Jo Woodruff had been selected as the Mae Retha Coleman Citizen of the Year recipient.
During what Council President Joe Blocker called, "A special occasion; a glorious occasion," residents and city leaders took turns praising the modest Central Baptist Church member who for decades supervised the church kitchen.
Woodruff has overseen the feeding of business leaders during Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce monthly breakfast meetings, and police officers and local clergy and their families during Christmas dinners.
But speakers at Monday evening's ceremony especially praised her work and determination when Hurricane Katrina refugees evacuated to Crestview in September 2005.
'YOU CAN JUST LEAVE'
Dr. Gene Strickland, president of the Okaloosa Baptist Association, described Woodruff's handling of the feeding of hundreds of evacuees.
"A representative of the Red Cross came to the kitchen and said, 'This is how we're going to arrange the kitchen,'" Strickland recalled.
"And the head of the Central Baptist Church kitchen crew (Woodruff) said, 'Wait just a minute. We've done this before. We know what we're doing and you can just leave.' And the representative of the American Red Cross turned around and left."
"I know you were going to tell this story," Woodruff said, feigning frustration.
Later, impressed by Woodruff's performance, the red Cross representative raised $1,700 in donations at a meeting to send to Central Baptist's kitchen crew for food purchases.
FOLLOWING JESUS'S PATH
"She's one of those people who doesn't wait for somebody to do something," her daughter Katie said. "She gets up and she does it."
"She has such a wonderful, giving heart," the Rev. Sherell Compton said. "Whoever has a need in their life, Mary Jo has reached out to make sure it's going to happen."
"I cannot tell you how thrilled I was when I heard Miss Mary Jo has been selected as Citizen of the Year," Mayor David Cadle said. "Who else can top what she has done?
"She didn't do that out of any glory of her own. She did that out of Christian conviction and following in the path of Jesus. I thank God for having her in this city."
"I'm thankful that Mama could do what she's done," Woodruff's son, the Rev. Joey Woodruff, said, adding her ongoing activity is what makes her life fulfilling.
"You can't stop, you can't sit down. You have to always be doing something that's rewarding," Joey Woodruff said.
"I hope the Lord will allow me to keep going and do more," Mary Jo Woodruff said.
"To love her is to see the hands and feet of Jesus come down and walk among us," Woodruff's pastor, the Rev. Paul Mixon, said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Woodruff selected Crestview Citizen of the Year (PHOTOS, VIDEO)