Kip Billups has been chosen as the 2018 Amarillo Pioneer of the Year.
Billups, an Amarillo homeless advocate and community activist, was chosen by the readers of the Amarillo Pioneer as the recipient of this year’s top prize. Out of the largest field of nominees ever for this award, readers gave Billups the nod out of a field of thirty-six nominees.
The founder of Amarillo Brown Bag Runs, Billups has also served as vice president of the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings. Billups made a number of headlines earlier this year when he was arrested several times when protesting the City of Amarillo’s treatment of homeless individuals. Billups was arrested during a meeting of the Amarillo City Council earlier this year, after he refused to comply with Mayor Ginger Nelson’s orders to stand during a City Council meeting. The arrest sparked global news coverage and a local debate over the mayor’s authority in meetings, which led to an Arlington State Representative writing a letter to the mayor on the arrest.
Since the arrest, Billups has become active in animal rescue promotion and has been a lead committee member for the petition drive led by Responsible Amarillo. Billups has also been floated as a potential candidate for the Amarillo City Council in the 2019 elections.
As this year’s recipient, Billups has been named the person with the biggest impact on Amarillo over the past year, as decided by the Amarillo Pioneer’s readers. Billups joins the 2016 winner, Councilman Randy Burkett, and the 2017 winner, Renea Dauntes, in being named a recipient of this major award.
Along with Amarillo Independent School District trustee John Betancourt, Billups was a runner-up for the award last year. Billups is the first runner-up for Pioneer of the Year to ever win the award outright during the following year’s vote.