Elizabeth Feezell Smith, left, and Mary Feezell Starnes stand in front of the plaque honoring their late brother, Sam Lee Feezell.Athens YMCA honors Chattanooga family
The Athens-McMinn YMCA recently honored two sisters, one of whom who lives in Chattanooga, for their donation that helped pay for extensive renovations to its 40-year-old building.
Elizabeth Feezell Smith and Mary Feezell Starnes gave a $500,000 donation to the YMCA on behalf of their brother, the late Samuel Lee Feezell. Part of the donation also came from the estate of Feezell's late wife, Nancy. The Y raised a total of $1.2 million for the renovation.
With the two sisters looking on, a plaque that renamed the YMCA as the Sam L. Feezell Wellness Center was unveiled recently in the entrance to the building. Feezell was owner and president of Athens Insurance Agency for 25 years. Starnes, whose husband is former Tennessee state representative Paul Starnes, lives in Chattanooga while Smith lives in Lexington, Ky.
Freedoms Foundation honors 11 high school students
Eleven high school students have been selected by the Chattanooga chapter of the Freedoms Foundation to attend the Spirit of America Youth Program at Valley Forge, Penn. They are Chandler Abbott, Hixson High; Emily Lupo, Center for Creative Arts; Brandon Lewis and Ally Welch, Central High; Megan Thompson, Collegedale Academy; Matt Lewis, East Hamilton High; Axel Ortiz, Ooltewah High; Corinna Cicci, Will Guill and Nick Chamberlain, Red Bank High; and Tiffany Majors, Silverdale Academy.