NCTC began the Will Hall Sullivan Award 22 years ago to recognize community heroes who make our community great. We are pleased to announce this years winner, Demps Breeding.

“Folks like Demps inspire us all to go one more mile for others, says Johnny McClanahan, NCTC's interim general manager.

The winner of the Will Hall Sullivan Award receives a recognition plaque and a $1000 contribution to the charity of his or her choice. It is named in honor of the founder of North Central Telephone Cooperative, who saw... the vision of a better community and gave everything it took to make that vision a reality.

Demps Breeding received the award because he is truly a community advocate who has dedicated his life toward the betterment of his county and his state. His community service goes back decades, serving as the UT-Extension Service County Agent of Macon County, where he trained a variety of teams to represent both Macon County and the state of Tennessee well in livestock judging, dairy judging and soil judging.

He was also the main founder of the Rural Area Development Committee (known as the

RAD Committee) and he is credited with helping the area grow for many years. This

group is credited with getting Highway 52 from Interstate 65 to the eastern border

of Macon and Clay Counties, for developing the Farmer's Marketing, for building the

National Guard Armory in Macon County,for establishing the Macon County Fair and for

starting E-911 in the area.

Demps has served on Macon County's county commission and on the Board of Directors

of the Macon County Park Commission, of which he is a charter member.

“A proponent of education, this year's Will Hall Sullivan Award winner didn't just

do his job 9 to 5. He worked for the betterment of his community with a vision of

how things could be better for everyone,” said NCTC's Board Chairman Shelvy Linville

during the award presentation on Saturday, November 1st.  “He's even known for

driving local students to the University of Tennessee to help them enroll in college

and helping them get scholarships.”

“This year's Will Hall Sullivan Award winner was once told:  ‘You will be remembered

for what you can get other people to do rather than what you can do.' And it looks

like Demps truly took that to heart,” Linville continued. “As someone who has gotten

others to join hands with him in lifting this community to a new level, we are proud

to present Demps with this very special honor.”