NEWPORT– Chris Austin and Alexa Austin were honored as the Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service (SCHAS) citizens of the year on Tuesday, April 16 at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center.
Each year, SCHAS honors someone in the community for their service and dedication. This year, for its 25th annual award ceremony, grandfather Chris and granddaughter Alexa, were selected as a duo by SCHAS board members.
Chris is known throughout the community for his 54 years of dedicated service to the funeral home business. He and his wife, Conchita Austin, own and manage Manes Funeral Home.
He worked for three years at Brown Funeral Home before becoming a co-founding partner at Manes Funeral Home in 1973. Since 1975 he has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer in the state of Tennessee. He is a member of both the Tennessee Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association.
Chris was particularly pleased to be able to share this award with his granddaughter, Alexa. “I’m truly just so proud of my granddaughter, she’s an inspiration to all of us,” he said.
Alexa is studying psychology, with a minor in pre-med at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She has worked as a secretary-assistant at her family’s funeral home since 2014.
In her free time, Alexa enjoys volunteering and fundraising, particularly for Alzheimer’s Tennessee. To date, Alexa has raised over $250,000, and she’s not done yet. Alexa noted she couldn’t have done it without the help from her hometown of Newport. After her first Alzheimer’s Walk event, she asked her grandmother, Conchita, “where do we sign up for the next one?”
When her great-grandfather, J.L. Austin, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Alexa’s family never hid his disease from her. In fact, they educated her on it, which fueled her desire to raise money for Alzheimer’s Tennessee. Alexa explained that “fundraising for Alzheimer’s Tennessee has taught me lessons that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Several people spoke before Chris and Alexa gave their remarks, including Dr. Rich Lloyd, SCHAS Marketing Director, Hannah Crider, SCHAS-Cocke County Director, Amy Coldwell, Cocke County Mayor, Rob Mathis, and City of Newport Mayor, Roland Dykes III, who all extended their congratulations, describing Chris and Alexas’s service to their community and acts of generosity.
The guest speaker was lifelong friend, Duay O’Neil.
Mathis and Dykes presented proclamations from Cocke County and the city of Newport respectively to Chris and Alexa, who both expressed their gratitude for the award.
Chris said this event was far more “emotional” than he anticipated, but was truly humbled.
He closed with one of his favorite quotes: ‘You never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory,’ and went on to say, “I’ll cherish these moments shared today, forever.”
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