Those who work with Bill Hendley say he likes to deflect the credit and put others in the spotlight.
That was tough for him to do Thursday when the McDowell County Commissioners officially declared it Bill Hendley Day and state Sen. Joe Sam Queen presented him with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state's highest civilian award, during a surprise ceremony at the Marion Rotary Club meeting.
Hendley is a founding member and chairman of the McDowell County Trails Association – an organization that now boasts 500 members -- and the driving force behind the effort to construct a greenway.
"Bill Hendley always steps up to the plate," said County Commissioner Andy Webb, who made the presentation for his board.
Hendley, 74, is a McDowell native who spent 22 years in the U.S. Air Force. He's retired now, which for him means driving a school bus, cleaning up Lake James, maintaining the trail to Point Lookout, raising money to build the greenway and expanding other recreational and cultural opportunities in McDowell.
During the presentation, Hendley accepted a $10,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was made to the YMCA for the greenway project. And, as usual, Hendley sought to turn the spotlight back on others.
"I'm very uncomfortable taking credit for the work the people you see back there have done," Hendley said, referring to dozens of Trails Association members who joined Rotarians Thursday.
He said he believes his work and the progress he and others have made have a higher purpose.
"I think a lot of this is divine intervention," he said. "This is an answer to my prayers."
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