Person of the Year

MAN OF THE YEAR – Derek Smith took over the reins of the Franklin Food Bank in mid-2022. “Public servant” is usually a moniker reserved for elected officials. But a person doesn’t necessarily have to win an election to serve the public, as exemplified by the Franklin Food Bank’s Executive Director, Derek Smith, who the Franklin Reporter & Advocate is …

Bill Grippo is the 2022 Franklin Reporter & Advocate Man of the Year. When the Franklin High School cheerleading team needed help raising money to go to the national championships in Florida, they knew who to turn to. When a township family suffered the tragic loss of their toddler daughter in a pool accident, one person stepped up to rally …

Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois is the Franklin Reporter & Advocate Woman of the Year. When she won re-election to her current term as an At-Large member of the Township Council, Kimberly Francois said she was determined to see the construction and opening of the Franklin Township Youth Center through in the coming four years. “I’m going to see that all …

Mayor Phil Kramer is the Franklin Reporter & Advocate’s 2020 Man of the Year. (File Photo.) It has been quite a year. None of us thought when we were ringing in 2020 that we would be ringing it out in the middle of a pandemic that has caused the deaths of at least 168 of our Franklin neighbors, sickened hundreds …

The 2018-19 Lady Warriors basketball team shortly after clinching a 34-0 season and winning the state Tournament of Champions. There are different things that can bind together a community; politics, volunteerism, and a shared history being some of them. In Franklin Township, the success of our children is one of the strongest magnets which pull us all together, even moreso …

The notion of “paying it forward” can be traced back to the ancient Greeks; it is the idea that one does not repay a kindness one was granted back to the benefactor, but, rather, finds someone else in the same situation and lends a similar helping hand. “Paying it forward” has been explored in plays, books and movies through the …

Some people move into a new town and are happy to fade into the background and live their lives in relative anonymity. Others choose to become a little more involved, joining a civic organization or two, but nothing that will raise their public profile too much. Then there are the immersers, the folks who run full-throttle into their new town’s …

The idea of the peacemaker – those who seek to build bridges rather than walls – is extolled in every religious tradition and is celebrated in just about every culture. Sadly, the actual peacemakers are often overlooked because much of what they do is behind the scenes, out of the public eye. Which is why we chose Alex Kharazi as …

Editor’s Note: Starting with this honor, the Franklin Reporter & Advocate will annually recognize one person who, in our opinion, has made the greatest impact on Franklin Township in the preceding year. Our inaugural award goes to Franklin Township Police Lieutenant Darrin Russo. On Dec. 2, 2015, Franklin Township Police Lt. Darrin Russo had a split second to make a decision …