Plant City Photo Archives and History Center President Ed Verner announced the selection of J. Myrle Henry to receive the coveted Heritage Award, the organization’s highest award.
Henry has been affiliated with local historical organizations for many years and has served as director and president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society.
Henry is a 1956 honor graduate of Plant City High School, where he received the American Legion Award. He received a Food Fair Stores Foundation Scholarship and a Hillsborough County Pharmaceutical Auxiliary scholarship and attended the University of Florida, graduating in 1961, with a pharmacy degree.
An active member of the Plant City community, Henry is a trustee of South Florida Baptist Hospital, a deacon of Plant City’s First Baptist Church and a trustee of Evangelical University and Seminary. He is also the founder and past president of Baptist Towers of Plant City and the Plant City Living Center.
Henry is the founder of the Florida Opry and of the Strawberry Classic Car Show. He also has served as president of the Plant City Downtown Business and Merchants Association, director and treasurer of the East Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Chamber’s Economic Development Council, a member of the Hillsborough County Citizen Advisory Committee, a longtime member of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, president of the Lions Club, Grand Lion of Florida Lions Foundation for the Blind, Melvin Jones Fellow of Lions International, past chairman of the Plant City branch American Cancer Society, past president of the Hillsborough County Pharmacy Association, and is a member of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy National Advisory Board.
The Heritage Award was established in 2004 to honor a citizen for his or her efforts to preserve the history and heritage of the greater Plant City community.
