O’Connor & Wilcox
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Vidalia honored two of its most involved citizens on Thursday night, March 5, as Rizza O’Conner was named the 2025 Lady of the Year and Garrett Wilcox was awarded the 2025 Man of the Year title.
Each year, the Vidalia Lions Club, Vidalia Kiwanis Club, and Vidalia Rotary Club members come together for a night of celebration, as they share their gratitude to individuals in the community who go above and beyond their civic responsibilities to help make the city a better place. These honorees are selected by a committee and the qualifications must follow several criteria – they must be of notable character; contributed their time, talents, or possessions to improving Vidalia; serve others; excel in their profession for at least five years; have a consistent reputation for accomplishments rather than a single continued from page
act of merit; and be motivated by a selfless desire to serve their fellow citizens. The award committees are led by Lady of the Year Committee Chair Marsha Temples and Man of the Year Committee Chair Mac Jordan.
2024 Lady of the Year Pam Langston took to the mic first to introduce 2025 Lady of the Year Rizza O’Conner. “I’m honored—and still a little surprised—to be standing here as last year’s Lady of the Year, and even more honored to present the 2025 Lady of the Year Award,” she began. “Since its beginning in 1972, starting with Eloise Shiplet, this recognition has celebrated an extraordinary group of women who have given so much to Vidalia and our surrounding communities. I’m humbled to be in their company — truly remarkable ladies who set a very high bar.”
Langston continued, “The Lady of the Year is someone who loves her community and works to leave it better than she found it. So tonight, it is my privilege — and a real joy — to introduce another outstanding woman who carries that tradition forward. This year’s recipient is not a native of Vidalia — what matters most is this: she chose Vidalia, and Vidalia is better because she did.”
She explained the O’Connor is a first generation Filipino-American, whose mother came to the United States as a nurse. O’Connor’s mother first settled in Statesboro, where she worked at the hospital, before moving to Savannah, where she met O’Connor’s father.
“Our Lady was born and raised in Savannah, and attended Mercer University, where she earned her law degree and met her husband. While in law school, she served as President of the Student Bar Association. She has been recognized as the first Filipino American judge in Georgia and the youngest Asian American to serve as a judge,” Langston told the audience. “She is deeply involved in her church and community. She has supported United Way, education, youth sports, and the arts. She has served in Kiwanis, the Boys & Girls Club, and the Vidalia Historic Preservation Commission, and is a graduate of the statewide Leadership Georgia program.”
Langston added, “As she would say, her greatest love and joy is being the wife of Daniel and the mother of Judson and Evie. It is my great honor to present the 2025 Lady of the Year – Rizza O’Connor.”
O’Connor reacted to the honor, as she emphasized her gratitude for the community and everyone who had helped her throughout her life. “Thank you so much. This was never on my bingo card,” she began. “It's just amazing to see my family here. As you guys heard, I'm a firstgeneration Filipino-American, and my mom, as you heard, became a nurse to provide a better life for her family. She, of all places, she came to Georgia. And I was born in Savannah. My parents scraped every penny they had to send me to a private school. Throughout my life, I've seen God's hands and God's purpose through it all. And being here in Vidalia has been one of the biggest blessings of my life, and this here is one of the greatest nights and greatest honors of my life.”
She continued telling the audience how she attended Calvary Day School, where teachers encouraged her and believed in her, and recounted the jury which she was placed on after high school, which inspired her to pursue a degree in law and led her to attending Mercer University.
“But really, I have found God's hands through all of this. I thought I wanted to be President of the United States. And I was one of those kids – I wanted to run for everything and do everything. But it was because I saw the opportunity what America gave and the opportunities that the rest of my family in the Philippines didn't have. I will be eternally grateful for that. So, I volunteered because people have done it for me, and I wouldn't be here if I wasn’t standing on the shoulders of so many other strong men and women,” O’Connor emphasized.
She recalled her shift in desires, as she thought she wanted to live and practice law in Atlanta, but quickly learned that lifestyle wasn’t for her; so, she became a prosecutor. “I wanted to be a really good prosecutor, so I applied all over. [Middle Judicial District Attorney] Tripp Fitzner and [former Middle Judicial District Attorney] Hayward Alton gave me a chance. Then, [Superior Court] Judge [Kathy] Palmer gave me a chance for the judgeship. Then, everything just kept on compounding just up continued from page
to something beautiful. Sara Brown was my sorority sister. Blake Tillery was my first Vidalia friend, then, he introduced me to Mary Moon. I was on a run and Larry Threlkeld told Hugh Jordan to invite me to Kiwanis. It's just things like that. So, I have been just forever grateful for the opportunities that we get here,” O’Connor remarked.
“Thank you to my family. I can't believe my kids are here. You know, as little as they are, it's just one of those things like God's got a great plan for you. And you know what, I would not be anywhere else. Nor do I ever want to be anywhere else,” she emphasized, as she commented on several people around the room that she has grown to love. “I mean, I can't thank you enough.”
Wilcox 2000 Vidalia Man of the Year Richard Martin then took to the mic to introduce 2025 Man of the Year Garrett Wilcox. He began his address by observing a moment of silence for the past recipients of the Man of the Year award who passed away in 2025 – Bill Mitchell and John Raymond Turner.
“It is an honor and privilege to present the man who was chosen as our 2025 Man of the Year. Soon, he'll experience what all past recipients call a lump in the throat, when you realize it's you that's being honored. A former Citizen of the Year, my father-in-law, Jack Fields, once told me a saying, by Carleton Canyon, ‘Service to others is the only measure of greatness in God's kingdom.’ This fits our man to a T,” Martin told the audience. “Rotary's motto is ‘Service above self,’ and our man in here is a past president of the Rotary Club, and he exemplifies this also. Tonight's honoree is different, though, and at the end of the presentation, you will know why.”
He explained that when determining the Man of the Year honoree, the committee bases their selection on criteria within six categories: spiritual, charitable, cultural, educational, civic affairs, public affairs, and general. “If I read everything in all the categories that our honoree has done, we’d be here all night. So, I’m going to try to give highlights,” Martin told the audience.
He shared that Wilcox is a member of the Vidalia Presbyterian Church, where he has served as the co-chair of the Congregational Care and Fellowship Committee and as a member of the Sessions Committee. Though a member of Vidalia Presbyterian Church, Wilcox and his family now regularly attend Vidalia Cornerstone Church. Wilcox also is an avid supporter of the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
“In the charitable category, our honoree is a board member of the United Way of Toombs, Montgomery, and Wheeler Counties. He is a past campaign chairman, along with participating in their Dancing For the Stars competition. He volunteers with the Salvation Army and works tirelessly on their bell ringing campaign at Christmas time,” Martin continued. “He is an enthusiastic supporter of the Boys and Girls Club, serving on their board of directors. He also participated in their reverse beauty pageant. The American Red Cross has benefitted also in his volunteering with the Vidalia Rotary Club in their sponsorship of the blood drive.”
He informed the audience that Wilcox is a member and past president of the Vidalia Rotary Club, and is a member and the president of the Vidalia Lions Club. Wilcox has been honored with the Vidalia Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow recognition, and is very active in the Club’s service projects.
“He volunteers as a marshal for the Vidalia Christmas Parade, but this year, he will not be a marshal – he will be riding in it. They just might have a hard time keeping him in the car,” Martin added with a laugh. “In the Public Affairs category, he has served on the Vidalia Tourism Board, the Downtown Vidalia Association, and the Vidalia Convention and Visitors Bureau. He even found time to coach his daughters’ softball teams at the Vidalia Recreation Department.”
Wilcox has served as a past member, chairman, and secretary of the Toombs County Development Authority, and served alongside his wife Blythe as the co-chair of the Greater Vidalia Leadership Class (formerly known as the Toombs-Montgomery Leadership Class), and is an alumnus of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2014. In addition to this, he was on the Board of Directors of the Vidalia Federal Savings Bank.
“Our honoree is a past principal of Vidalia High School and a past superintendent of the Vidalia City School System. He is a board member of the Southeastern Early College and Career Academy, which is a form of technical cooperative education. He was instrumental in getting four area schools on board to support this effort, and SECCA has paid off with higher graduation rates,” Martin said. “Our honoree received one of the most coveted awards in Georgia public education: the Georgia School Superintendent’s prestigious Bill Barr Leadership Award. He also had the foresight to bring the four school systems to develop a crisis alert system for active shooter situations, medical emergencies, student altercations, unauthorized visitors, and emergency situations.”
Martin informed the audience that Wilcox is the current chairman of Keep It Clean Vidalia and Forge Men’s Recovery. He also shared that he cannot think of another time when the award honoree planned the banquet, as Wilcox had led the charge on the event, which was hosted by the Vidalia Lions Club this year.
Martin continued, “The general category [of the award criteria] states that the Man of the Year should be a man of noble character who has high ideals and principles, who has contributed his Godgiven talents, time, and possessions to improving Vidalia. This perfectly describes our Man of the Year for 2025.”
Wilcox responded to the honor by reminding the attendees why the award was created. “We kind of lose sight of why this thing was put together, and that was to promote a sense of community, a sense of doing, and a sense of giving, and to use this event every year to keep perpetuating that,” he explained. “You know, it’s nice to recognize those folks that do, but it also promotes a culture of unselfishness – that’s in the program; it’s one of the major words that’s used to describe [the honorees]. There’s a room full of those people in here – there’s a bunch of Citizens of the Year sitting in this room, whether you’ve been recognized or not.” He went on to explain that attending the Citizen of the Year celebration in the past changed his perspective on life and led him to volunteer more. “I was a self-proclaimed Onion Festival and Christmas Parade hater for at least 5 years – until I figured out how much work it took to pull it off,” Wilcox remarked. “Some of that mindset was changed in this room. This was kind of a history lesson for me, or as Ginger Morris would call it, ‘me putting everybody with Mama.’ It was a genealogical lesson watching that railroad roll through because at the time, I didn’t know all these folks. I didn’t have a background with their contributions or even who they were.”
Wilcox challenged the attendees to work at promoting civic clubs and involvement with younger generations so that they can understand the importance of investing in their community.
He told the audience how his parents had always modeled the act of giving to those around you rather than taking, and how his family had been supportive in his endeavors, even when these endeavors took him away from spending time with them.
He highlighted the unselfishness he had seen through the Vidalia City Schools Board of Education, whose members serve tirelessly without receiving a penny of compensation, and explained that he could continue sharing names and individuals who serve selflessly throughout the night.
“I appreciate the recognition and thank all of you,” he concluded.
Wilcox’s wife, Vidalia Rotary Club President Blythe Wilcox adjourned the event, as she thanked the various civic groups for coming together to honor the outstanding members of the community.
SELFLESS COMMUNITY – During his acceptance speech, 2025 Vidalia Man of the Year Garrett Wilcox shared his gratitude to live in a selfless community that serves others willingly.Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PASSING THE HONOR – 2024 Vidalia Lady of the Year Pam Langston (right) passes the honor to 2025 Vidalia Lady of the Year Rizza O’Connor (left).Photo by Makaylee Randolph
FIRST GENERATION FILIPINO-AMERICAN – 2025 Vidalia Lady of the Year Rizza O’Connor is a first generation Filipino-American. Her family was in attendance at the Vidalia Citizen of the Year celebration on Thursday, March 5.Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PINNING THE HONOREE – Blythe Wilcox (right) pins the Vidalia Man of the Year commemorative pin on her husband 2025 Vidalia Man of the Year Garrett Wilcox (left).Photo by Makaylee Randolph
SUPPORTIVE FAMILY – 2025 Vidalia Man of the Year Garrett Wilcox thanked his family for their support throughout his volunteering and civic engagement endeavors.Photo by Makaylee Randolph
