Beth Stevens always seems to be where the action is.
Whether it is the annual Christmas parade, the 300 Oaks Road Race or Bikes, Blues & Bayous, Stevens, the executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, has made her mark.
For that reason, Stevens was the recipient Thursday night of the Greenwood Lions Club’s Outstanding Citizen of Leflore County for 2016.
The presentation was made during the annual “Lions Night Out” at the Greenwood Country Club.
She is the 62nd recipient of the award.
Stevens said she wasn’t in the dark about the award.
“I’d known about it for several weeks,” she said.
Still, the honor of being selected came as a surprise.
“I tend to be recognizing other people. It was a big honor to be recognized in that way. I’m in some great company,” Stevens said.
Matthew Hicks, the first vice president of the Lions, said one of the his duties is to find a suitable candidate for the citizen award.
Stevens was an easy choice, he said.
Stevens, a native of Grenada, has been the chamber’s executive director for the past 14 years.
Prior to her job at the chamber, Stevens owned a retail store and served twice as the lifestyles editor at the Commonwealth.
During her tenure at the Commonwealth, Stevens won numerous awards for her writing and photography.
A graduate of Mississippi State University, Stevens received a degree in public relations with an emphasis in journalism.
Stevens is a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Georgia. She will graduate in August from the Community Development Institute at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
Upon graduation, she will hold the designation of certified community developer.
During her tenure at the chamber, Stevens has helped guide the organization to substantial growth, added community events, helped research and facilitate the birth of the community’s recycling program and revitalized the Young Emerging Leaders of Leflore County (YELL) program, which has graduated more than 250 high school juniors.
In 2015, the chamber was invited to apply for the National Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Chamber of the Year, based upon its successes.
Stevens has served on the Mississippi Economic Development Council’s board of directors as an at-large member. She has also served two years as the vice president of chamber development for the state of Mississippi.
She has been named one of Mississippi’s 50 Leading Business Women by the Mississippi Business Journal as well as a Top 40 under 40 by the Delta Business Journal.
Stevens serves on the board of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta, Main Street Greenwood, the MSU Leflore County Extension Service Advisory Board, the Greenwood Public Schools Career and Technical Center’s Advisory Board and is a member of the Greenwood Rotary Club, where she serves as social chair.
An avid heirloom tomato farmer, Stevens and her husband, Glen, are members of North Greenwood Baptist Church.
Stevens has two children, Wade Henderson and Molly Henderson.
Wade is a private pilot in Greenwood and Molly is a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi, where she obtained a degree in graphic design.
In their spare time, Stevens and her husband co-manage the Downtown Greenwood Farmers Market during the summer months.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
