Texas Tidbits

Howard Payne dinner planned. A dinner for alumni and friends of Howard Payne University is scheduled in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Fort Worth. The dinner will be at 5 p.m., Nov. 10, in Room 100 of the Fort Worth Convention Center. Tickets are $10, and advance reservations are requested. Visit http://alumni.hputx.edu/bgct08 or call (800) 950-8465 or (325) 649-8069.

Rangel to lead ministry along Rio Grande. The Baptist General Convention of Texas has named Daniel Rangel director of the organization’s border/Mexico mission work. For the past two years, Rangel has been director of missions for Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association. Prior to that, he served as pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Mission nearly four years. He also has served at the Valley Baptist Mission Education Center in Mission and as pastor of First Baptist Church in Donna. Rangel, who assumes his new role Dec. 1, earned a master of divinity of degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas-Pan American.

HBU awarded $500,000 grant. Houston Baptist University has been granted $500,000 from the M.D. Anderson Foundation for its student center. The original plan was to remodel and expand the school’s M.D. Anderson Student Center—a hub of campus activity since 1963. However, the student center sustained extensive damage due to Hurricane Ike. A civil engineering study is under way. HBU considers the refurbishment—or replacement—of the student center to be of critical importance to the renewal of the campus, a key component of the school’s recently adopted 12-year vision, President Robert Sloan said.

Palos to lead BGCT stewardship office. Frank Palos has been named stewardship specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He is moving from his most recent role, as Hispanic evangelism director, to lead the BGCT Executive Board staff’s leadership ministry efforts. Palos served previously as director of congregational stewardship and associate coordinator of what was then called the BGCT Church Health and Growth Section. Before that, he led BGCT stewardship and Cooperative Program efforts related to Hispanic congregations. In all, he has led more than 100 capital campaigns for Texas Baptist churches. Palos earned his master’s degree in business administration from Dallas Baptist University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University.

Howard Payne receives $1 million pledge. Howard Payne University received a $1 million commitment from Ed “Beezer” and Virginia Day of Brown County to support the renovation of the university’s historic Coca-Cola bottling plant complex into a new art program facility. The new educational area will be named in memory of Day’s mother, Doakie. “The new Doakie Day Art Center will truly be a tribute to the life and work of Mrs. Doakie Day as well as a tremendous blessing to the department of art at Howard Payne University,” President Lanny Hall said. “This major commitment will help bring about the first dedicated facility HPU’s art program has ever had.”