A pair of Pizza Inn franchise owners in a small town in Mississippi have been honored as the chain’s franchisees of the year, the company announced.

The awards ceremony took place recently in New Orleans. Award recipients own stores in several small communities in the American South.

Bob and Jason Singh own the Pizza Inn franchise in Monticello, a town of about 1,440 people in the southern part of the state. The duo has been with the brand since 1977, when Bob owned a franchise in Waynesboro, Mississippi. Jason worked at the Pizza Inn in Greenwood, Mississippi, through high school and joined the family business in 2009.

According to Pizza Inn, the Franchisee of the Year Award symbolizes “exemplary dedication to customer satisfaction, community service and team leadership” and recognizes the recipient’s “outstanding performance and contribution to the Pizza Inn chain.”

Keith Herrley, owner of the Pizza Inn locations in Snyder and Big Springs, Texas, and Larry Rust, who owns a franchise location in Paducah, Kentucky, received the brand’s Legacy Award.

Herrley opened his first location in 1994 and won the Franchisee of the Year Award in 2019. At that time, he said, “That’s No. 1—caring about your customer. Being involved in the business operation seems to be the key.”

Rust is known for his “giving nature,” the company said. Since launching his Pizza Inn store in 1992, he has raised nearly $500,000 for local charities and organizations.

The General Manager of the Year Award went to Craig Johnson, who recently retired after spending 47 years managing the Pizza Inn store in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.