City Of St. Pete Honors Veterans At Veterans Day Celebration

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The city of St. Petersburg hosts its seventh annual Veterans Day Celebration at Williams Park in downtown Wednesday.

Mayor Rick Kriseman will honor veterans present the Honored Veteran Award to two outstanding local veterans.

This year's awards will be presented to the late Dr. Bill Heller, former dean at University of South Florida St. Petersburg and Army veteran, and Jim Nixon, LGBTQ Liaison with the city of St. Petersburg and Navy veteran.

Heller was born in Scales Mound, Illinois in 1935 and passed away in St. Pete September 2020.

Heller served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division.

A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University and the University of Northern Colorado, he worked in Washington D.C for the Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) department, served as the dean of education at the University of Alabama, superintendent of Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and dean of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's College of Education and Allied Professions. He then served as the dean and CEO of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg for ten years.

James "Jim" Nixon serves as the LGBTQ Liaison in for the city of St. Petersburg. He is the former marketing manager at Metro Inclusive Health and has been a marketing force in the LGBTQ community throughout Tampa Bay through his time at the Dali Museum, Ruth Eckerd Hall and the Watermark.

Nixon has raised thousands of dollars to combat HIV and AIDS through his participation in The SMART Ride from Miami to Key West. Nixon served as a seaman recruit quartermaster aboard the USS Raleigh in 1984.

Nixon was discharged for being gay, the city said.

Capacity at the event will be limited and attendees will be expected to maintain social distance. All City guidelines and recommendations for assembly referenced in The St. Pete Way toolkit on RestartStPete.com will be followed.

Those interested in attending are encouraged to watch the Facebook Live stream of the event at facebook.com/StPeteFL.

It starts Wednesday at 8 a.m. at Williams Park, 330 Second Avenue North.