The 32nd annual Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Awards Banquet has been postponed from its original Tuesday, May 5 date.

“Circumstances dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic will not allow us to hold the banquet as originally planned,” said Joe McGlamery, president of the Statesboro Herald, which hosts the Awards banquet. “Like everyone, we are hopeful that soon we will be in a position to start planning for events like the banquet again. But, right now, it is too soon to announce a date for the 2020 Service to Mankind Awards ceremony.”

McGlamery, who also is chairman of the Awards selection committee, said dozens of nominations were received prior to the March 16 deadline.

“We will keep all nominations that have already been made and when a new date is determined for the banquet, we will then work on having another nomination period,” he said.

Since the awards were established in 1989, more than 900 Bulloch County residents have been recognized with Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Awards.

“Every community has a vital group of individuals who give of themselves to make their communities better,” McGlamery said. “Bulloch County seems to have more than its fair share of servant leaders and it is this group that we seek to recognize with the Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Awards.”

Nominees are “often folks who work quietly behind the scenes of organizations, churches and community groups” and are “dedicated to making the lives of all they touch better,” McGlamery said.