”Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention,

sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many

alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”

Superlatives

It has become a great source of pride for our committee members to develop a family award system designed to honor the truly special individuals in our family. Here are the six award categories that are presented at our reunions and an explanation of them.

  • The Family Matriarch Award is given to a senior member of the family whose life has transcended the limitations placed on them.

    This award is an award of pride. It is designed to allow the recipient to know that we are proud of their contributions to this family and to the world. It was formed as a result of the committee realizing that we need to honor our seniors and revel in their respect and love. It was created to allow us all to see what excellence looks like.

    The Family Matriarchal Award represents the best that we have to give. It is given out of pure respect for the honoree and our devotion to our elders. It is an award of strength in that we acknowledge that the honoree has allowed the younger generations to stand on their shoulders and rise to meet our potential on this planet. It is an award of love, in that love is the purest form of admiration and admiration is the closest expression of God’s happiness.

  • John Fitzgerald Hibbert is the late son of Edward and Dorrel Hibbert. Prior to his death in 2008, John was a flight attendant for American Airlines and had devoted much of his free time and disposable income to take care of orphan children in the Dominican Republic. John was well known by some but also unknown by many others.

    The John Fitzgerald Hibbert Award is presented in memory of its namesake to the person in the family that was unknown to most, but has grown to become a valuable resource to the family.

  • This Award is designed to highlight and acknowledge the person in the family who is living a life of example by bringing honor to the Hibbert name and legacy in the work and deeds that is done in daily life. The Leading by Example Award was created to let the family know that all work is honorable work, to always do your best, because someone is watching and noticing you.

    This award is given to a person in the family who is an example to all generations and has allowed God to use his/her life to do good work on this planet. This award is designed to thank its recipient for working with character and integrity in their chosen profession and for allowing the world to witness our family values in such a public way. The recipient of such an award has created big footprints for others to follow. The honoree was chosen based on the pride that we hold for the service that this person does in their life, work, and voluntary activities.

  • The Elizabeth Hibbert Award is designed to acknowledge a descendant in the family that has contributed to their community and has proved to be a source of pride for us all. Elizabeth Hibbert was the soul of the Hibbert clan. As such, this award pays homage to her desire to contribute to the family in positive ways. Each reunion the committee votes on which family member embodies Elizabeth’s spirit. Elizabeth was also an example for others to follow. She was married twice and had two sets of children but always kept all of the kids together creating one large and extended family.

  • The yearning of our family to stay together has produced several beautiful events like our family reunions and our famous family BBQ’s. But we have not only set the stage for family to gather and reminisce, we have also set the stage for us to come together for a distinct and higher purpose…for our children. We have a dream that one day our future generations will have more opportunities than we have ever imagined. To give future generations this opportunity, we must challenge our children to challenge themselves.

    Our desire for this has given us the inspiration to develop the Hibbert Family Trust which has the distinct purpose to benefit the family, especially our children. We would like to let you know that the Trust was born form your contributions and by your very attendance at this reunion. Right now, the Trust is very small. But it will not be for much longer.

     To illustrate our desire to benefit our family, we decided to create and offer many incentives for our children to achieve on a higher level… the first of which is the Descendants of Solomon and Elizabeth Scholarship Award.

    To qualify for this Scholarship a young adult will have to follow the award criteria set forth by the reunion committee which involves essay writing and academic requirements that may change from year to year.

  • The Hibbert Heritage Award is the highest award that can be given to any single individual in the family. The purpose of this award is to highlight the one person in the family who has contributed most to the preservation of the family name of honor, character, and integrity and has provided opportunities for all of us to share in building pride within our family and our race.

Award Winners