Travis Woody and Delores Kopp were named Halls Man and Woman of the Year at the 2018 Halls Business and Professional Association banquet at Beaver Brook Country Club. The Halls Madrigal Singers entertained, and Darren Cardwell was installed as association president for 2019.
Both honorees have made significant contributions to the Halls community – he as manager of the Halls Food City and she as an active member of the Halls Crossroads Women’s League.
Travis Woody (center), Halls Man of the Year, is congratulated by Bobby Hubbs and Bob Crye.
A Morristown native, Woody graduated from Morristown Hamblen High West in 1993. He graduated from Walters State Community College in 1996 and from the University of Tennessee in 1999. Professionally, he started bagging groceries at Food Lion in 1993. He began managing for Food City in 2003 and came to Halls Food City in 2005.
He said serving on the HBPA board “allows me to give back to the community.” He chaired this year’s Christmas Parade and helped with summer events such as Movie Night, Trunk or Treat and the picnic at the Halls Outdoor Classroom.
At Food City, Woody hosts fundraisers for the Halls High band including the annual car show on the Saturday before Easter and the Food City Frenzy Car Wash, which is also the band’s first performance for the new school year. The store holds a year-round food drive that benefits Halls Welfare Ministries.
Company initiatives that help the community include:
- Project Help, a fundraiser that benefits citizens who struggle with utility costs in the winter
- JDRF, a fundraiser that benefits juveniles with diabetes
- Race Against Hunger, a fundraiser that benefits Halls Welfare Ministries and Christ United Methodist Church projects
- Mission Able, a fundraiser that benefits the country’s veterans
- School Bucks, which provided $2,649 to Halls community schools this fall.
Church is important to Woody. He surrendered to Jesus at age 9 and was baptized at Bell Avenue Baptist Church. He now attends Lyons Creek Baptist Church, where he volunteers for events such as Café at the Creek and the fall festival Trunk or Treat.
Elizabeth is his wife of 18 years. Son Zach is 13 and daughter Alyssa is 11. Woody says the greatest event he’s ever witnessed was seeing the three of them baptized at the same time.
Delores Kopp is the consummate community volunteer. She and her husband, Ron, have lived in Halls since 1976. She has one daughter, Amie Summers (husband Todd); a granddaughter, Taylor (a senior in nursing at Tennessee Tech), and a grandson, Blake (a senior at Grace Christian Academy). Kopp also has four step-children, six step-grandchildren and nine step-great grandchildren. She is a member of Salem Baptist Church and takes a leadership role in community outreach, in decorating the church for Christmas and other occasions, and participates in any other needs as they arise.
Kopp coordinated and co-designed the Halls High School outdoor classroom, as well as partnered with building and providing the landscaping for the site. She volunteered at St. Mary’s Medical Center delivering mail and flowers to patients and serving on the Auxiliary board of directors. She volunteered at the Halls hospice twice a month and also at Elmcroft.
She participates in a sewing ministry at Fountain City Presbyterian Church, sewing clothes for children in Belize, for needy children at the Knoxville Crisis Center, and for Central Baptist Christmas Boxes. She also participates in a sewing ministry at Salem Baptist Church for Frakes Elementary School in Frakes, Kentucky, and for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville.
Kopp is a member of the Halls Crossroads Women’s League, serving on the Beautification and Environmental Committee. This group installed the swing at Clayton Park, planted 500 spring bulbs, planted a Christmas tree for annual lighting, and coordinates litter pickup in Halls. Kopp helps lead the team for the annual Veterans Day parade and luncheon at Salem and the Halls Christmas Parade.
She also volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of Halls-Powell, works with Halls Welfare Ministries and packs backpack lunches for Adrian Burnett Elementary School.
Kopp was recognized for her volunteer work at St. Mary’s Medical Center and was the Home Federal Hometown Hero in 2015.
Halls High School Madrigal Singers entertain at the Halls Business and Professional Association’s annual banquet.