Reginald Trice, president emeritus of the Kiwanis Club of Macon, was presented a George F Hixon Fellowship award by club members at the club's annual meeting.  Trice began his service to the Kiwanis Club almost 74 years ago at the age of 19.  

Penny Windhan, the club's first female president in its 81 year history, also received a Hixon award.

- - from the Macon Telegraph - Sunday, August 5, 2001 p7B

L to R:  Steve Simpson,  Reginald Trice,  Penny Windham,  Richard Domingos

King of the road - By Ed Grisamore  - The Macon Telegraph  - Wed. May 2, 2001 p1B

Tuesday wasn't his first honor, nor will it likely be his last.

Trice said he has been blessed.

"I drink from my saucer," he said, "because my cup runneth over."

His out-of-town friends often call him when they drive through Macon and ride past the familiar sign along the interstate.

"I'm on the Reginald Trice Parkway," they boast above the cackle of their cell phones.

You can be assured he is grinning on the other end of the line.

He admits he was surprised --- and practically speechless --- seven years ago when that 10-mile stretch of I-75 from the Monroe County line to its junction at I-16 was named in his honor.

Had it not been for Trice, that ribbon of concrete would have bypassed us to the west more than a generation ago, dropping in a free fall from Forsyth due south to Perry.

In his eight years as chairman of what was then known as the Georgia State Highway Board, Trice used political clout and skillful diplomacy to bring those exit ramps and green signs through Macon.

Our cars, trucks, gas stations, motels and restaurants can thank him for that. Clearly, it has affected the life everyone in this county.

Not to mention the 36,000 travelers who roam the Reginald Trice Parkway every day --- even if they have no idea who Reginald Trice is.

He turned 94 years young on the final day of February. But he's not so old that life doesn't keep throwing in a few surprises, just like in 1994 when they named all that asphalt after him.

Take Tuesday, for example. He arrived for lunch in Room 306 at the Macon Coliseum, expecting to present a distinguished Hixon Award to Penny Windham, the president of the Kiwanis Club of Macon.

Windham was elected as the club's first female president last October. The Hixon Fellowship is one of Kiwanis International's highest honors. It carries a $1,000 donation made to the Kiwanis International Foundation.

Through the supreme sneakiness of former President Steve Simpson, Windham thought she was presenting Trice with the award, and Trice thought he was presenting Windham with the award.

So it turned out that two deserving folks --- the president and president emeritus --- were both honored.

Trice's recognition came almost 74 years to the day he became a member of the Kiwanis Club in his hometown of Thomaston. The date was May 3, 1927, two weeks before Charles Lindbergh made his historic flight across the Atlantic.

He worked as a bookkeeper for a cotton mill before going into the oil business, which brought him to Macon in 1930. Before he left home his mother, Pearla Harp Trice, gave him a Bible on his birthday. Proverbs 3:1-4 was written in the front, reminding him always to keep God's commandments in his heart.

The man who delivered us the interstate for our ride home every day still drives himself around town. One day each week, he steers his Mercedes station wagon to the old family farm four miles east of Thomaston. He continues to keep up with transportation issues, too.

x http://www.macontelegraph.com/content/macon/2001/05/02/local/GRISCOL_0502_WEDNESDAYHOM.htm

Ed Grisamore's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at 744-4275 or egrisamore@macontel.com .