It’s official. Kip Billups has been crowned the 2018 Amarillo Pioneer of the Year.
Being accompanied by his grandmother and a friend, Billups accepted his Pioneer of the Year award Thursday at the Amarillo Pioneer office. Billups won over half of the votes cast out of over 3,000 submissions, as the Pioneer sought to crown its 2018 Pioneer of the Year.
“I am honored I was chosen by the citizens of Amarillo,” Billups said, while accepting his award.
Billups is the third person to receive this annual award. In 2016, readers named Randy Burkett the recipient of this award, and photo archivist and former mayoral candidate Renea Dauntes won the award in 2017.
Aside from Billups, Georgia Estrada and the Loft Church were named the 2018 runner-ups. Thirty-one people were nominated for this year’s award, in total, in addition to a number of write-in votes.
