MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobilian of the Year award has been given annually since 1948 to an individual who has made an extraordinary, positive impact on the Mobile community.

This year, it goes to Daphne resident Robert Edington.

“We are pleased at the selection of Mr. Robert S. Edington as the recipient of the Mobilian of the Year award for 2007,” he said. “Mr. Edington is a native of Mobile and has served the city in numerous ways for over 50 years. We are looking forward to honoring him at the Mobilian of the Year banquet on April 1.”

Randall “Randy” Eckhoff, president of the Cottage Hill Civitan Club, said the Civitan Club is excited about the 2007 Mobilian of the Year award program. The Civitan Club received eight nominees for the award. All are outstanding citizens of the City of Mobile, with extremely high credentials for community service in both the public and private sectors, Eckhoff said.

The Civitan Club of Mobile sponsored the Mobilian of the Year program from 1948 until 2007, when the Cottage Hill Civitan Club began coordinating the event. In 2007, USA joined the Cottage Hill Civitan Club as a partner in the event. USA is not involved in the selection process for the award, but hosts and assists with the annual banquet.

The Mobilian of the Year Banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1 at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Center. Banquet tickets are available by contacting Randy Eckhoff at (251) 666-1973 or eckhoff@juno.com, or Carolyn Lee at (251) 476-9891 or carolynlee303@comcast.net.

For more information, visit www.civitan.org/~cottagehill/.