Photo by Crystal Reed
The Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development 2020 Citizen of the Year award was given to Margi Gaither and the Sullivan Stitchers by Sullivan Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Executive Director Laurrie Minor.

•March 10, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Sullivan Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development has awarded its 2020 Citizen of the Year award to Margi Gaither and the Sullivan Stitchers.
Gaither saw a need for mask distribution after watching a news program about the pandemic and had an idea. Though she does not sew herself, she knew she could organize, and that’s what she did. She organized a group of 20 individuals in the community to create cloth masks, which were approved by Decatur Memorial Hospital, for those who needed them during the pandemic.
She found sewing machines for those who didn’t have them but had the skills to sew and put out a call for materials and even set up a safe distribution system to get the masks to those who needed them. The Sullivan Stitchers under her leadership gave away more than 8,000 masks to local hospitals, staff and students of local schools and citizens in this community.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.