Around the State

• Dillon International will present a free adoption information meeting from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at Buckner Children’s Home Campus in Dallas. A Dillon representative will give an overview of adoption from China, Korea, Haiti, India and Hong Kong, plus new opportunities in Ghana and Nepal. A domestic program for Texas families and adoption programs in Russia, Ethiopia and Honduras available through an affiliation with Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services, also will be discussed. For information or a reservation to attend the meeting, call (214) 319-3426.

• Mission Waco will hold a banquet Feb. 9 at the Ferrell Center on the Baylor University campus. Table sponsorships cost $350 for churches, nonprofits and individual tables; $500 to $750 for businesses; and underwriting still is available from $1,000 to $5,000. Individual tickets are $37.50. Dress is casual. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

• The Central Texas Literacy Conference will be held Feb. 12-13 at First Church in Waco. Topics include “Games to Practice Reading and Writing,” “Organ-izing Your Ministry,” “Possible Curricula for Teaching English on Foreign Soil,” “What’s Free at BGCT,” “God Speaks Through the ESL Lesson” and many others. Registration is limited, and after Jan. 31 the conference fee increases. For more information, see www.literacyconnexus.org.

• Valley Baptist Missions Education Center will hold a youth conference Feb. 12-14. The “Be Choosy” conference features messages by Thomas Brewer, music from John Sherrill Band and drama from Skitsozilla. Registration prior to Jan. 11 is $99, and before Feb. 5 is $119. Price includes lodging, meals, conference and t-shirt. For more information, go to www.vbmec.com.

• John Wood, president of John Wood Ministries, and the International Medical Education Foundation, received the Presidential Merit Award during a ceremony at the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C. Dec. 21. The award is presented to individuals who have gone beyond the call of duty in their service to Ukraine. The award is presented in three levels, and Wood received the highest level in recognition of his contributions to Ukraine. He has performed religious, humanitarian and medical ministries in Ukraine 17 years.

• Dallas Baptist University presented the Russell H. Perry Free Enterprise Award to Tom Leppert, mayor of Dallas. He is a member of First Church in Dallas.

• Dee Grimm has joined Baptist Child & Family Services as national emergency preparedness coordinator to provide training, consulting and coordination throughout the western region. Grimm has served on BCFS’ incident management team since the 2008 hurricane season, when the agency responded to hurricanes Dolly, Gustav and Ike.

• Children’s Emergency Relief International has named Natasha Maliko as national director responsible for overseeing the organization’s Memory Box Project and other initiatives in South Africa. The memory box project works with dying parents and the children to preserve memories through tangible objects, photographs, letters and written stories placed in a box before the parent dies and the connection is lost.

• Tristan Summers, a December graduate of Howard Payne University, ranked in the top 1 percent on a national test in business.

• Two University of Mary Hardin-Baylor professors, Marilyn Byrd and Shirley Walker were contributing authors of articles for a recent issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources. Byrd also served as an editor for the issue.

• Tex Quesada, a 1986 graduate of Baylor Law School, has been elected president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.

• Fourteen East Texas Baptist University students are included in the 2010 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

Anniversaries

• Maurice Smith, 60th, in ministry, Jan. 15. He was ordained to the ministry Jan. 15, 1950 by Whon Church in Coleman County. He has been a Texas pastor, a foreign missionary to Ghana, a home missionary, an interim pastor and an adjunct professor at four Baptist seminaries. He retired from the staff of the former Home Mission Board in 1994 and is in his ninth year of teaching as an instructor at the San Antonio campus of Wayland Baptist University.

• Jay Farrar, 10th, as pastor of Christ’s Fellowship by the Bay in Corpus Christi.

Retiring

• Jimell Badry, after 56 years of ministry, the past 14 years as worship leader and administrator of First Church of Black Forest in Colorado Springs, Colo. He and his wife, Carolyn, have returned to Forney and plan to continue to serve as a worship leader or senior adult minister. They reside at 2038 Enchanted Rock Drive, 75126.

• Mary Cook, as church secretary of First Church in Rosenberg after 48 years. A reception will be held in her honor Jan. 31.

Death

• Don Lane, 57, Dec. 19 in Oklahoma City from complications of leukemia. The past 13 years, Lane devoted himself to helping feed the physical and spiritual needs of Amarillo’s poorest children. His family has pledged to continue his ministry. He began his ministry in 1971 and also served churches in Mesquite, Greenville, Burleson and Anchorage, Alaska, as pastor. After a liver transplant in 1996, he began Citychurch and ministered primarily to impoverished children, but it has grown to serve people of all ages. Last summer, Citychurch volunteers fed 2,200 children a day. The church also recently opened The King’s Academy, a private school that offers free tuition, clothing, food and transportation to 22 children in preschool through second grade. Many of the children are homeless. In 2007, he was named Amarillo Globe-News Man of the Year for his work. He is survived by his wife of 38, Diana; sons, Donnie and James; daughter, Anna Lea Clement; and eight grandchildren.

Event

• First Church in Devers will hold a gospel singing jubilee Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. The Cherrys and The Calvary Singers are the featured groups. An offering will be received. For more information, call (936) 549-7653. Harry McDaniel is pastor.