Zaragoza, aTeam couple to be honored at LVH awards banquet

Vestavia Hills community members will gather this month to celebrate the hard work of those who go above and beyond to serve the city and its people.

The 27th annual Leadership Vestavia Hills Community Awards Banquet is March 2 at 6 p.m. at Vestavia Hills Country Club.

The program will honor former Mayor Butch Zaragoza and aTeam Ministries founders Andy and Jan Thrower.

Zaragoza, who will be presented with the LVH Lifetime Achievement Award, served the city as mayor for two terms beginning in 2008. Before that, he spent 39 years with the Vestavia Hills Fire Department, moving up through the ranks to fire chief before retiring and becoming a public servant. In his time serving the city for nearly five decades as well as in various fire-chief associations, Zaragoza also served in top positions with the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency and Jefferson County Mayors Association.

The Throwers, who founded aTeam in 2009, will be honored with the Distinguished Citizen Award for their work offering spiritual, financial and emotional support to children and families facing pediatric cancer. The Throwers started aTeam after their son, Anderson, who is now a third-grader at Vestavia Hills Elementary West, went through a fight with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Individual tickets can be purchased for $50 each at leadershipvestaviahills.com. For more information about sponsorship and reserving a table, contact Penny Lewallyn at Lewallyn@aol.com.