Amarillo Pioneer of the Year Nominees 2018

It’s that time of year again.

After asking the public to submit nominations for the 2018 Pioneer of the Year Award, we are proud to announce the nominees for this award. Every nomination was submitted by a reader to select the person they feel has had the biggest impact on Amarillo, for better or for worse, over the past year. We had many nominations come through this year and narrowed down the selections to 36 individuals, making this the largest Pioneer of the Year field ever. Notably, this is also the first year where two entities have been nominated for this award, making it to the final ballot.

There are a few quick notes we would like our readers to be aware of: First, every nominee was submitted by an Amarillo Pioneer reader. Secondly, due to the high nomination input this year, only a select few nominees made it to the final ballot, as these nominees received multiple nominations from readers. Finally, just because an individual or entity has been nominated does not mean this individual’s actions are supported by the Amarillo Pioneer, its staff, its advertisers or any other individual involved with the Pioneer. THIS IS **NOT** AN ENDORSEMENT.

Final voting for the Pioneer of the Year will begin on Wednesday, October 31st. Voting ends on Friday, December 7th. Early bird voting begins on www.amarillopioneer.com at midnight on October 30th.

We are excited to present our nominees and we can’t wait to see your votes.

VOTE HERE BEGINNING AT 8PM on OCTOBER 29TH FOR EARLY BIRD VOTING

https://goo.gl/forms/cZxw5ermFETdVk4Z2

---

Previous Pioneer of the Year Winners

2016: Randy Burkett, Amarillo City Councilman; Runners up: Kit Rudd, Tom Warren III, Jeff Blackburn

2017: Renea Dauntes, Mayoral candidate; Runners up: John Betancourt, Kip Billups

---

Pioneer of the Year Nominees 2018

James Allen, Former AISD Trustee

Susan Allen, Randall County Clerk-elect

Dacia Anderson, Animal activist

Richard Beals, Randall County Constable

John Betancourt, Amarillo ISD Trustee

Kip Billups, Community activist

John Ben Blanchard, Amarillo ISD Trustee

Ryan Brown, Attorney

Amanda Brown Hunter, Community activist

Noah Dawson, Amarillo Pioneer columnist

Georgia Estrada, Potter County Constable

Alex Fairly, President of the Fairly Group

Michael Green, Attorney

Matt Hand, Potter County Court at Law #2 Judge-elect

Terry Harman, Randall County Republican chairman

Floyd Hartman, Amarillo Assistant City Manager

Richard Herman, Potter County Justice of the Peace

King Hill, Playwright and artist

William Kearns, Animal rescuer

Steve Land, Potter County Democratic chairman

Victor Leal, Restaurant owner

The Loft Church

Robin Malone, Amarillo ISD Trustee

Mercy Murguia, Potter County Commissioner

Jack Mustard, Community activist

Ginger Nelson, Amarillo mayor

Hayden Pedigo, Internet star and City Council candidate

Freda Powell, Amarillo City Councilwoman

Four Price, State Representative and Texas Speaker candidate

Mike Purcell, State Representative candidate

Amarillo Satire Facebook Page

James Schenck, Community activist

Claudette Smith, Community activist

Robert Taylor, Police officer and Justice of the Peace candidate

Alphonso Vaughn, Potter County Commissioner

Aaron Watson, Country music star