Sept. 21, 2015 – Sept. 21, 2015 – Nearly two dozen individuals and organizations have been nominated by their peers for a 2015 Tennessee’s Best award.

Award winners will be announced during the Tennessee Governor’s Housing Conference, which is being held Oct. 7-8 at the Music City Center in Nashville, organized by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.

The Tennessee’s Best awards honor outstanding individuals and organizations whose contributions on behalf of affordable housing – whether producing, designing, developing, financing or promoting housing policy – inspire others to serve Tennesseans’ housing needs.

Tennessee’s Best celebrates housing partners that consistently make a positive impact and showcases the best practices of developers, authorities, community service organizations and others.

THDA Executive Director Ralph M. Perrey said it was important to recognize those across the state who are making a difference in their communities by working on behalf of affordable housing.

“We want to accomplish two things with the awards,” said Perrey. “We want to congratulate our partners for great work and we want to see it replicated wherever possible.”

The 2015 edition of the awards includes a new category named after retired THDA Coordinator of Homebuyer Education Vicki George.

The Vicki George Award for Excellence in Homebuyer Education was created to recognize an educator or counseling agency that excels in providing professional homeownership education and counseling that results in a significant improvement in housing opportunities for Tennessee families.

Awards are also given for Excellence in Partnership, Outstanding Advocate, Remarkable Achievement and Best in Innovation.

Nominees for the inaugural Vicki George Award for Excellence in Homebuyer Education are Lisa Booker of Family and Children’s Services (Nashville), Taylor Hays of HomeSource of East Tennessee (Knoxville) and Beverly James of Christian Community Services (Nashville).

Excellence in Partnership nominees are Ridgeview Apartments of Gallatin; Buffalo Valley, Inc. of Hohenwald; Nichole Carter, Patten Towers (Chattanooga) Service Coordinator; Blount County Habitat for Humanity; Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville & Nashville School of Law, Tim Dimick of US Bank of Maryville and United Housing, Inc. of Memphis.

Nominated in the Outstanding Advocate category were Debbie Hillin, of Buffalo Valley, Inc.; the Scott County Homeless Shelter and the Community Development Council of Greater Memphis.

The Remarkable Achievement category includes Keystone Development, Inc.; Buffalo Valley, Inc.’s William Basinger, Grace Crossing, LP of Paris; The Villas of Savannah, LP and Marshall Gardens, LP of Milan.

The nominees in the Best in Innovation category are Franklin Housing Authority, Keystone Development, Inc., John Pointer, Dansen and Associates, LLC and Urban Housing Solutions (Nashville).