Emma Beck with members of the Dixon family and Infraframe representatives

The late Ronnie Dixon faithfully served the city of Vidalia, for many decades, beginning in 1978 when he was elected to the City Council, and then as Mayor from 1994 until his death on April 1, 2020. To honor his legacy, each year the public works department, formerly known as ESG and now Inframark, has presented the Ronnie A. Dixon Scholarship to a graduated senior of Vidalia High School.

With members of Mayor Dixon’s family in attendance this week for the June meeting of the Vidalia City Council, Clay Sykes of Inframark acknowledged this year’s recipient Emma Beck.

“Vidalia is what it is today because of people like Mayor Dixon,” Sykes said. “No one loved this city more than Mayor Ronnie Dixon did. His influence goes way beyond the City of Vidalia. He was highly respected in the Georgia Municipal Association and even served in a leadership role there.

“There’s a quote from Emma’s application that really stood out to me,” Sykes continued. “She wrote that her view of leadership is walking in the light and showing integrity. That’s something Mayor Dixon did, and something that I’m going to take as a personal challenge to instill in my own life.”

Emma is the daughter of Josh and Sarah Beck, and the granddaughter of Jim and Yvonne Beck and Bill and Julee Torrance all of Vidalia.