Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009 11:40 am

Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg congratulates Rob Lyons on becoming the new city manager. TMP file.

Leadership Rutherford has named Murfreesboro City Manager Rob Lyons as the 2009 Pinnacle Award winner. He will be honored at the Chamber’s “Business at Its Best – 2010 Celebration” Friday, February 5, at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel and Conference Center.

“Rob is an exceptional leader,” said Paul Lamb, president of Leadership Rutherford. “The leadership he showed during the Good Friday tornadoes was simply extraordinary.”

Lyons was the assistant city manager when an EF-4 tornado left a 23.5-mile path of destruction across Rutherford County last April. Then City Manager Roger Haley was out of town, leaving Lyons in control. He stepped up to the challenge during the catastrophic events, taking control of the city departments and ensuring everything ran smoothly.

After the tornadoes, Lyons was praised by both city officials and residents of Murfreesboro. Upon the retirement of Roger Haley, the City Council decided to forego a national search and appoint Lyons as the next city manager.

“I am extremely honored to receive the Leadership Rutherford Pinnacle Award,” said Lyons. “However, I certainly cannot take all the credit for the recovery efforts from last spring’s tornadoes. It was a complete team effort. I am so proud of our employees for the job they did in response to the tornadoes. In addition, it was incredible to see how volunteers, contractors, Smyrna, La Vergne and Nashville rushed to provide assistance immediately to our city.”

Reservations for the Chamber’s Business at Its Best celebration are $60 members and $80 non-members. To reserve your seat, contact the Chamber of Commerce at (615) 893-6565.

Atmos Energy is the presenting sponsor. A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. Keynote speaker Bryan Townsend will speak on “Stand on It! A Challenge to Take Off the Cruise Control.”