Around the State: Buckner receives gift for Family Hope Center; ETBU hires head football coach

Buckner Children and Family Services is one of eight nonprofit beneficiaries of the 2018 Crystal Charity Ball. The $1.125 million award will go toward construction of the children’s wing of the planned Buckner Family Hope Center at Bachman Lake in Dallas. Buckner has launched a capital campaign to build the center to serve a community of 82,000 residents—mostly at-risk youth and families—in the area north of Dallas Love Field. (http://www.buckner.org/family-hope-centers)

East Texas Baptist University named Brian Mayper head coach for ETBU Tiger football. He succeeds Scott Highsmith, who stepped down from the post due to family health reasons. Mayper is former head coach at Navarro College and was named 2013 Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Central Texas Coach of the Year. He also coached at Howard Payne University, South Arkansas University and Lamar University, and he was coach of the Belgrade Wolves in the Central European Football League. He also was offensive coordinator and special teams coach at Frisco High School and passing game coordinator at Brennan High School. He earned his undergraduate degree from Sam Houston State University and his master’s degree from Southern Arkansas University. He and his wife, Theresa, have been married 22 years and have two daughters, Myka and Mia.

Baylor University, in conjunction with the Baylor Line Foundation, announced the slate of alumni-elected regent candidates presented for election this spring. They are William Kevin Cherry of Dallas, Wayne Fisher of Houston, Katie Jo Baumgardner Luningham of Kansas City, Mo., Mark Allen Newton of Lufkin, Rusty Phenix of Henderson and Gordon Wilkerson of Lubbock. More information about the candidates will be provided to alumni in the spring issue of Baylor Magazine, on the Baylor website and through the university’s social media channels. (https://www.baylor.edu/)   Credentials for voting will be provided to all degree-holding Baylor alumni by mail and/or email in advance of the voting period. An independent third party will conduct the election from April 23 through May 2. The two candidates receiving the most votes will serve three-year terms on the Baylor board of regents. The candidates, whose nominations were supported by the signatures of at least 50 other Baylor graduates or who were nominated by official advisory and advocacy boards and groups associated with the university, were considered by a nominating committee composed of two sitting alumni-elected regents not up for re-election and two other regents. A full list of guidelines for the election can be found here. (https://www.baylor.edu/alumni/regents/)

Byron Weathersbee, co-founder of Legacy Family Ministries, was keynote speaker at Woven, a one-day relationship conference at East Texas Baptist University Feb. 14.  The conference addressed topics such as singleness, dating, engagement, marriage and purity. A luncheon focused specifically on preparation for marriage.

 Anniversary

25^th for Buddy Sipe as pastor at Cottonwood Baptist Church in Lorena.