The following is this week’s I AM, YOU ARE, WE ARE Honoree by Ashton Greer and Nicole Van Hyfte
Tom Hightower is sending ripples through the community and beyond with his leadership and initiative of acceptance, no matter where you are at in life. Tom is a 59-year-old Danville native who resides here with his wife and their 8 children. According to him, he has hundreds of kids because it does not require blood for you to provide a fathering role to people who need it.
This Thanksgiving, his congregation fed about 300 people with the help of the community. This was a joint effort, but he proclaims the true credit goes to God. “I just wanted to have the largest Thanksgiving ever and just do what I can do to help,” Tom says. When it is not a holiday, you can find him offering career and education mentoring, participating in youth outreach, hosting groups at his church, catering lunch on Sundays to the congregation, and shopping local to give back to his community.
The Hightower Family Fellowship Center opened in June and is thriving and serving the community in a multitude of ways. They are currently taking donations for their next event on December 17, which will include hot cocoa with Santa and as many gifts as they can secure so that each child leaves with something. Tom “loves everything about Danville,” and appreciates the neighboring aspect of it. This certainly shows in the way he dedicates his life to serving others, expecting nothing in return.
Tom moves with gratitude and emphasizes not taking anything for granted. Aside from Hightower Family Fellowship Center, he also runs Hightower Auto Detailing and has been operating the business for 22 years. Tom certainly leads by example and welcomes anybody to come as they are to their congregation. Communities are built by leaders with a kind heart and a vision, and Tom is just that.
If you have someone you would like to share,
visit https://forms.gle/deCPiQ1cxn1pDLhZ9
or contact Ashton Greer, City of Danville agreer@cityofdanville.org or
Nicole Van Hyfte, Vermilion Advantage nvanhyfte@vermilionadvantage.com.
