Greetings Fellow Pioneers:
It's hard to believe that Homecoming 2015 is just around the corner, Oct. 2-3. The theme is "Together...Again" and we're looking forward to seeing many former Pioneers coming home to be part of the festivities.
We'll also have Parent-Family Weekend with a special brunch on Saturday.
(There is a link to our schedule of events under "Upcoming Events." Call me at 806-291-3603 or e-mail andrewsd@wbu.edu if I can answer any questions.)
In addition to a host of activities, a major focus will be the 11 a.m. Friday chapel at which several alumni will be honored. They include:
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI (The highest honor given by the Association of Former Students): Don (BA'65) and Christa (BA'63) Smith of Plainview Christa taught in the School of Languages and Literature for 43 years while Don taught in the Plainview school district for 24 years and coached for most of that time.
DISTINGUISHED LIFETIME SERVICE: Eddie Turner (BA'72), manager of the University Store for 41 years, he served as Minister of Music for First Baptist Church in Hale Center for 38 years and has held leadership positions in national bookstore managers associations.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI LEADERSHIP: Linda Pickens-Price, BS'69, of Huffman, a former All-American for the Queens and member of the WBU Athletic Hall of Honor. Former administrator of the Harris County Psychiatric Center, she held executive positions within MHMR and the University of Health Science Center-Houston. Several years ago, she was named one of the "Most Powerful Women in Houston" by Houston City Magazine.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI SERVICE: Steve Deaton (BSOE'84 from the Lubbock campus), Regional Manager for Community and Economic Development for Xcel Energy who is very involved in community organizations.
DISTINGUISHED BENEFACTORS: Dr. Joe and Terri Jesko of Arlington, who both received their Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. He is a behavioral health care consultant and serves as a Wayland trustee and she is a former teacher and owner of a tutorial service business and also served as a trustee. They have an endowed scholarship and were instrumental in the All-Steinway Project completed last year.
DISTINGUISHED YOUNG ALUMNI: Kiana Bullard Brown (BA'10) who started her own non-profit organization, Love Thy Neighborhood, which seeks to establish community-based relationships and ministry in Louisville, Ky.
Athletic Hall of Honor inductees at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in the Laney Center will be Carol Bailey-Sessums of Lubbock (BS'94), a two-time All-American for the Flying Queens who coached for many years; all-time leading Pioneer scorer and first-team All-American Kendall Webb (BBA'06, MBA'07) of Littlefield who is head girls' basketball coach there; and longtime faculty athletic representative Dr. Paul Sadler, Dean of the School of Religion and Philosophy who also has served as Wayland's representative to the Sooner Athletic Conference and the NAIA.
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We are always sad to hear of the passing of Wayland alums and those connected to our University. We get a mention in Footprints as well as post obituaries on our Facebook page.
I was particularly sad at the passing of Millie Bishop on Sept. 12 at the age of 94. Millie was my high school journalism teacher and a wonderful influence on my long career in the newspaper business.
She was a member of the Wayland faculty for a time before going to Plainview High School and her husband, Dr. J. Ivyloy "Jack" Bishop, was a member of the religion faculty for more than 30 years.
Millie was very influential in the Texas Woman's Missionary Union and was named a Baptist Elder Statesman several years ago. Dr. Bishop had been head of Royal Ambassadors work for Baptists before they married.
Millie is survived by her son, Dan; daughter, Judith; and four grandchildren. Memorial gifts are encouraged to the Amelia Bishop Women's Ministerial Scholarship at Wayland or Amelia Bishop Missions Communication Endowment of Texas Woman's Missionary Union, WMU of Texas, 10325 Brockwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75238.
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Hope to see you at Homecoming. Have a great fall!
