Grace Media Group – NEWS/TALK 101.5 FM, 93.1 FM & WNWS.COM congratulates on-air personality Jimmy Duke, the recipient of the 2023 Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award.
Jimmy Duke, who emceed the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame festivities for 20 years, was speaking from the podium for a different reason when induction ceremonies were held at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, Tuesday.
Jimmy was the recipient of the 2023 Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award.
The Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors presented the first Distinguished Service Award in 1989, but renamed the award in 2014 in honor – and memory – of the late Billy Schrivner, who was a founding member, board member and former president of the Sports Hall of Fame Board.
“It is a surprise, and it is an honor to be here tonight at the hall of fame,” Duke said, “The time I spent here – they were some of the best times I spent in my life. I really enjoyed every minute of it and I really appreciate the (hall of fame) board considering me for the Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award.
“Billy was a great friend and a mentor while I was here, and to have my name interspersed with his is an honor in itself.”
Inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, Billy Schrivner served as a valued advisor and mentor until his passing in 2014.
Before inductees take their place in the Hall of Fame, a video highlights their career.
Duke is the voice-over for each individual, something he continues do seven years after retiring as emcee.
A native Jacksonian, Jimmy worked approximately 37 years at Golden Circle Land Company, but he continues to serve as board chair for local non-profits Madison-Haywood Developmental Services (MHDS), Jackson Center for Independent Living and the Legends of Tennessee Music Museum at the Carnegie.
(PHOTO: Jimmy Duke, seated, visits with Tom Britt, left, and Tom Mapes, following induction ceremonies at the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame, Tuesday. The three are the only emcees in the history of the Hall – Mapes served the first 10 years, Duke followed with the next 20, and Britt, seven and counting)
