NEWPORT-Esther Houston Vassar and James S. Franks, Jr., Newport natives, will return to their hometown in March as recipients of the Cocke County Education Foundation's prestigious Celebrate Our Success awards.

The duo will be honored at the Foundation's annual banquet March 14 at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center.

Each year the Foundation honors two graduates of local high schools who have achieved outstanding levels of success in their fields.

Vassar, a graduate of Tanner High School, recently retired as U. S. Small Business Administration National Ombudsman and Assistant Administrator of Regulatory Enforcement Fairness.

For more details, please see the Thursday edition of the Newport Plain Talk.