Texas Baptist Men volunteers served cold water, snacks and lunch to police officers who attended the memorial service for a fallen officer, Senior Cpl. Jamie Givens. Givens, 55, was killed by a suspected drunk driver. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel from throughout Texas attended the funeral at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.
TBM and their out-of-state partners completed disaster relief work in Weslaco July 28 after contributing more than 9,200 volunteer hours and making nearly 1,500 personal contacts with individuals and families affected by flooding. They tore out damaged drywall and flooring from 93 homes and treated 114 houses to mitigate mold. Volunteers distributed 5,241 boxes to residents who needed to gather and store their belongings. They provided access to more than 600 showers and washed 380 loads of laundry. The Baptist workers distributed 334 Bibles, presented the gospel at least 144 times and recorded 24 professions of faith in Christ.
The East Texas Baptist University School of Nursing attained a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for the fourth consecutive year. Measured by analyzing the current and historical licensure exam pass rates, RegisteredNursing.org recently recognized ETBU as the eighth-ranked RN program in Texas out of 114 programs evaluated and 50 ranked.
The Baylor University Symphony Orchestra, led by Baylor Conductor-in-Residence Stephen Heyde, received The American Prize in Orchestral Performance in the college/university category, making this its fourth consecutive year to win first place. The orchestra also is the first ensemble in any of the competition’s categories—professional, community, university, high school or youth—to win first place four times in a row. The American Prize, the national nonprofit competition in the performing arts, has honored 22 American orchestras nationwide for musical excellence within their divisions, for community outreach and educational enrichment.
Dallas Baptist University received a $13,000 grant from the Alice Givens Jones Foundation for equipment to aid visually impaired students who use DBU’s Vance Memorial Library. In addition, three current DBU students with visual impairment will receive scholarships from the foundation. Pamela M. Ajayi and Georgia M. Barnes began the Alice Givens Jones Foundation in honor of their mother and grandmother, Alice Givens Jones, a former nurse who became visually impaired at age 58.
Anniversaries
40th in ministry for Jimmy Towers and 20th as pastor of LifeWay Fellowship in Killeen. The church will host a reception from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Central Texas College’s Anderson Campus Center.
Retirement
Charlie Dodd will retire as congregational care pastor at First Woodway Baptist Church in Waco, effective Aug. 31.
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