VIDALIA &8212; The Vidalia Chamber of Commerce&8217;s Vidalian of the Year was hailed as a quiet leader of the community.

&8220;From the days of the hydroelectro plant&8217;s opening to the present development of the riverfront, one man has always been there,&8221; Chamber President Vernon Stevens said. &8220;Usually behind the scenes, but he&8217;s always been there.&8221;

True to his introduction, Travis Gore didn&8217;t have much to say after the ovation had quieted.

&8220;Sometime I&8217;m going tell some old stories,&8221; he said and returned to his seat.

With his 37 years working for Concordia Bank and Trust &8212; 17 as the bank&8217;s president &8212; his work with the Lion&8217;s Club and his involvement with the First Baptist Church, Gore no doubt has plenty to talk about.

Maybe over a game of his beloved dominoes, &8220;no gambling, though.&8221;

Two of Vidalia&8217;s current banking leaders, Pat Biglane and Cliff Merritt, pointed to Gore as a mentor and influence on them.

The two shared the Business Person of the Year award on behalf of their banks, Concordia Bank and Trust and Delta Bank, respectively, for work done to help displaced people get their financial affairs in order in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Biglane and Merritt praised their employees, the customers and the other members of the business community.

&8220;Every one of you stepped up to the plate,&8221; Biglane said. &8220;You all deserve this award.&8221;

The honor of Educator of the Year went to Sheila Lanius, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Vidalia Lower Elementary School.

School Board Superintendent Kerry Laster praised Lanius as a &8220;can-do&8221; person who has been instrumental in the success of the Reading First program.

&8220;You get into this because you love children and I want to thank everyone,&8221; Lanius said. &8220;I really appreciate it.&8221;

The Hospitality Award for outstanding service to the community went to Rena Pitts. Pitts, a member of both the Vidalia and Ferriday chambers, Ferriday Rotary and sits on the board of the Delta Music Museum Foundation, Riverland Hospital and the Concordia Animal Welfare Shelter, when she&8217;s not working at her day job.

Riverpark Medical Center and Wilmar Construction were co-recipients of the Bowie Business of the Year award.

The two were cited for their contributions to the improvement of health care and economic development, respectively, in the Miss-Lou.

The night&8217;s speaker, Harold Leggett, of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality took the audience on a visual tour of the damaged New Orleans area.

&8220;We&8217;ve got to do better, someone&8217;s got to be in better control,&8221; he said.

&8220;We get one pass; now we know.&8221;

He praised the heroics of underpaid &8212; and publicized, he said &8212; state workers and said it gave him hope for the future of the state.

&8220;Ten years from now, when you look at the state, you&8217;ll be proud of what you see,&8221; he said. &8220;I think it will be stronger and better than it was.&8221;