Deacon Hicks Armor was invested with the Knight Commander Cross of the Order of the Fleur de Lis on Aug. 23 at St. Mary of the Springs Church in Hot Springs, Ark.
(Courtesy of Raleigh Cooper) Living the values of the faith Mike Horten (right), as master of the sword, knights Deacon Hicks Armor into the Order of the Fleur de Lis.
Deacon Armor was joined with three clergy and nine lay commanders being invested. The deacon and wife Vicki live in Chattanooga. Deacon Armor was ordained to the permanent diaconate on June 11, 2016. He is assigned to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul and also serves as the diocesan director of Stewardship and Strategic Planning.
Deacon Armor has served on boards including for the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Convention and Trade Center, Chattanooga Sports Authority, Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, United Way, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga College of Business Advisory, CHI Memorial Hospital Foundation, and Tennessee Council of Developmental Disabilities.
Before his retirement, Deacon Armor had a successful career in the insurance industry. He continues memberships with the Serra Club of Chattanooga, the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Foundation of East Tennessee, and the International Catholic Stewardship Council.
The Order of the Fleur de Lis is an organization of Catholic men incorporated under the laws of Louisiana as a not-for-profit organization. The order’s domain is a five-state region consisting of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
The objectives of the order include supporting and defending the Catholic Church and its teachings; promoting patriotism and good citizenship; encouraging public morality and unselfish service to God and country; assisting and publicizing the activities of other organizations that also promote the above; and memorializing and popularizing the memories and achievements of Catholic leaders in religion, the arts and sciences, philanthropy education, exploration and archeology, government and international relations, medicine and jurisprudence, and other established professions.
The Order of the Fleur de Lis encourages and recognizes leadership in living the values and principles of the Catholic faith by presenting the Monsignor Joseph Susi Award of Honor to an individual who has excelled as a Catholic leader in any one of the following: religion, family values, youth, aging, politics, patriotism, the arts and sciences, education, philanthropy, public morality, management-labor, the media, or medicine and jurisprudence.
Other Knight Commanders of the Order of the Fleur de Lis in the Diocese of Knoxville include Father John Orr, Deacon Sean Smith, Deacon Paul Nelson, Deacon David Duhamel, Raleigh E. Cooper III, Ronnie Holmes, Mike Horten, Eric J. Pelton, Paul Simoneau, Victor Williams, and Michael Wills.