Around the State: UMHB students receive Christian leadership awards

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor honored students Grace Gifford, Kade Kubecka, Kennedy Wells, and Vaughn York with the Gary and Diane Heavin Servant Leadership Award during the final chapel service of the semester. The award recognizes the students’ extraordinary time and energy devoted to ministry and community service during their years of study at UMHB. The award is named for Gary and Diane Heavin of Waco, who established an endowment at UMHB to fund the recognition annually. The honor included a $1,000 cash award for each student, a portion of which could be donated to an organization of the student’s choice.

Camille Freeman of Henderson was recognized during East Texas Baptist University’s 79th annual Senior Girl Call-Out. Selected by a faculty and staff vote, the senior student “called out” each year is distinguished for exemplary Christian character, social consciousness, personal poise, academic achievement, and spiritual vision. Freeman is a marketing and management major. The daughter of 1995 ETBU graduates Clay and Kendall Freeman, she has been actively involved both on campus and in her church community. At ETBU, she played beach volleyball for two years and participated in an on-campus life group. She also earned recognition on the President’s List and demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit through her small business, Created by Cami, which she showcases during on-campus Small Business Saturdays. For the past 79 years, more than 1,000 young women have taken part in the tradition. Today, the university community continues to honor senior girls for their Christian character and academic excellence, upholding a long-standing tradition of recognition.

Howard Payne University honored six students at the annual Servant Leadership Awards Chapel for servant leadership on campus and in the community. Students honored were Vitória Biazi of São Paulo, Brazil; Kate Buchanan of Mineral Wells; Kourtney Melton of Katy; Blessing “Bill” Ngene of Madisonville; Diondray Parker of Portland; and Biak Sang of Garland. Buchanan, Melton, Ngene, and Sang each received the Howard Payne University Servant Leadership Award. Biazi and Parker each received the Nat Tracy Servant Leadership Award. Recipients of both awards are selected from nominations made by HPU personnel and students. Established in 2007 through the generosity of the Moore Foundation and the Barney II Foundation, the HPU Servant Leadership Award recognizes exemplary junior-level students in the areas of leadership and service. Each recipient received a $1,000 scholarship.

Wayland Baptist University honored Randy Neff as the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for the university’s Wichita Falls campus during graduation exercises May 8 at Faith Baptist Church in Wichita Falls. Neff, a longtime leader in child welfare and family services across Texas, is a three-time graduate of Wayland. He earned a Bachelor of Science in occupational education with a specialization in criminal justice in 2002, a Master of Arts in education in 2013, and a Master of Arts in counseling in 2017. Neff began his career in child welfare with Child Protective Services in 2002 and was named CPS Worker of the Year in 2003. Throughout his career with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, he served in Child Protective Services and Family-Based Safety Services before advancing into leadership as a Region Two program administrator. In 2014, Neff received the Patsy Baggett Service Award from the Wichita County Child Welfare Board and was named CPS Staff of the Year by the Advisory Committee for Promoting Adoption of Minority Children. He currently serves as senior vice president for Empower, overseeing services across nine counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Previously, he worked with 2INgage, helping implement community-based care initiatives across 30 counties in Texas, including Wichita, Taylor, and Brown counties.

Houston Christian University joined forces with KPRC-2 Community and Gulf Coast Blood to host its spring blood drive. HCU faculty, staff, and students donated 26 units of blood that can potentially save up to 78 patients in need. HCU collaborates with KPRC-2 and Gulf Coast Blood on an ongoing basis to host life-saving blood drives as an expression of its faith-based mission, emphasizing compassion and service to others.

Community members from across the Big Country gathered at Hardin-Simmons University, May 6, for the university’s annual National Day of Prayer Breakfast, joining together in prayer for local leaders, schools, churches, first responders, health care workers, and future generations. The event brought together HSU faculty, staff, students, alumni, pastors, educators, and civic leaders for a morning focused on faith, unity, and service to the community. Throughout the breakfast, leaders from across the Abilene area led prayers over areas affecting daily life and the future of the region, including government, education, health care, businesses, churches, and the military. Observed annually across the United States, the National Day of Prayer encourages communities to unite in prayer and reflection.