Around the State: Texan named as National Acteen Panelist

Emily Morrow of First Baptist Church in Ponder has been selected as a national Acteens Panelist and will be featured during the Woman’s Missionary Union Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting, June 9-10, in Birmingham, Ala. National Acteens Panelists are selected on the basis of their academic excellence, leadership skills, and involvement in church and community. Morrow, a junior communication studies major at Samford University, first became involved in missions organizations through the Girls in Action program. “As a GA and Acteen, learning about missions, praying for missions, giving to missions, doing missions and participating in the work of the church is a huge part of what drives my life today,” she said. Morrow and four other National Acteens Panelists from Louisiana, California and Virginia each will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the WMU Foundation.

After donating about 10,600 volunteer hours, Texas Baptist Men wrapped up disaster relief following a series of spring storms in Longview, San Angelo and Abilene. Collectively at the three locations, TBM volunteers completed more than 200 chainsaw jobs, cooked 3,635 meals and logged 539 heavy equipment hours. They removed debris from 69 homes, distributed 264 boxes to enable survivors to gather and store scattered possessions, washed 264 loads of laundry and provided access to more than 500 showers. They made more than 1,000 personal contacts and distributed 115 Bibles.

Tommy Sanders, provost and vice president for academic affairs at East Texas Baptist University, recently led 32 students, faculty and staff on a Global Study and Service trip to Israel. Students earned academic credit as they visited biblical sites and studied Scripture passages related to specific locations. Students also learned about the current culture with visits to neighborhoods, governmental facilities and museums. The ETBU group also cleaned floors and windows and worked on landscaping at the Magdala synagogue, and they led children’s games at the Migdal Community Center.

Eight graduate students from the clinical counseling program and the marriage and family program at Hardin-Simmons University traveled to New York and Northern Ireland. The trip combined learning about diverse populations with missions experience. In New York, students visited Little Italy, Chinatown and a Messianic Jewish congregation. Student Tillie McGuire noted the experience provided opportunities both for personal and professional growth. “This world isn’t meant to be a cookie cutter world, so to take the time and learn more about the different cultures that are around you,” she said. In Northern Ireland, the HSU students teamed up with RIOT Ministries to work with underprivileged and high-risk youth. The nonprofit organization seeks to provide a safe haven for young people who need guidance and mentoring. HSU graduate students establish rapport with the youth by playing soccer, singing and sharing their Christian testimonies. “The relationships we made with the youth and volunteers at RIOT will last forever,” said HSU student Brionna O’Donald. “I was truly blessed to be a part of it.”

The James and Dorothy Doss Foundation recently donated $25,000 in scholarship funds to Howard Payne University through TexasBank. The contribution was made to a fund established by the Doss Foundation and TexasBank in 2017 to help deserving students from the Heart of Texas area attend HPU.

The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs granted full accreditation to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor McLane College of Business. In addition to the college’s undergraduate programs, the council approved the college’s Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Information Systems degree programs. Two new degree programs, the Master of Science in Accounting and the Master of Science in Marketing, will be eligible for accreditation when they meet the council requirement that the program has been offered at least two years and has produced graduates.

More than 170 Baby Boomers and senior adults attended Hilltop University, a three-day spiritual retreat at East Texas Baptist University. Jimmy Draper, president emeritus of LifeWay Christian Resources and former pastor of First Baptist Church in Euless, was keynote speaker. John Hatch, interim pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Longview, taught the Bible study sessions. The Foto Sisters, a classically trained sibling trio, led worship. The conference also featured a concert with Legacy Five, a four-part harmony Southern Gospel quintet.

 Travis Frampton, vice president for university mission and strategic vision at Hardin-Simmons University, has accepted the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Schreiner University in Kerrville, effective July 1. Frampton taught 19 years at HSU.

Six Super Summer sessions for youth are scheduled at Texas Baptist universities in June and July. Sessions are slated June 10-14 at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall and at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene; June 17-21 at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton and Dallas Baptist University; June 24-28 at Howard Payne University in Brownwood; and July 8-12 at Hardin-Simmons University. For more information, click here.