Businesspeople and friends from around the county gathered at the Luverne Country Club on Tuesday night for the Chamber of Commerce awards dinner, where William Petrey was honored as Citizen of the Year.

The event was a little different than past years — several of Petrey’s friends and his wife, Neva, took part in a roast before he was presented his award.

After all the stories were told, Petrey took to the podium.

“I want to thank my God and my family,” he said.

Several others spoke about Petrey and his accomplishments in the community, which include being a leader at the Luverne United Methodist Church, president of First Citizens Bank of Luverne, a member of the Rotary Club, a long service to the Crenshaw County Economic and Industrial Development Authority and an active role in the Chamber of Commerce.

“William has chaired nearly every committee in the county, even the ones no one else wants to, and he’s given a lot of his time doing it,” said Martha Dickey, Chamber president.

Following the presentation, Kay Ivey, Alabama state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate, spoke.

“Where there is a thriving chamber, there is a thriving community and people with vision,” she said.

Petrey also said that he has several visions for the future of the county.

“We’ve come a long way in Crenshaw County,” he said. “It’s taken a lot of teamwork between the county commission, mayors, Chamber of Commerce and others. We’ve got a number of things going on, but maybe we can get 331 four-laned.”