Southwest Baptist
University News Release
Contact:
Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications
BOLIVAR, Mo. – BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University will be
celebrating Homecoming 2012 on Friday, October 5, and Saturday, October 6.
Students will begin their activities earlier in the week with traditional
events such as "Spirit Chapel" and "Bed Races."
This year’s reunion class will have the
opportunity to catch up with classmates on Friday at a pre-dinner social
followed by the alumni banquet. On Saturday, everyone is invited to the parade
starting at 10:00 a.m., followed by the football game where the SBU Bearcats
will face the Hornets of Emporia State University at 2:00 p.m.
Approximately 2,000 SBU alumni and their
families are expected to come to Bolivar for the homecoming events. Bolivar
businesses are encouraged to decorate their windows using the homecoming theme
and the SBU school colors, purple and white.
For more information about parade
entries, participating in the car show, or other Homecoming
activities, contact the SBU Homecoming hotline at 417-328-1806, or visit the
SBU website at: http://www.sbuniv.edu/alumni/homecoming
2012 Life Service
Award Winners
Inspired by the Life Beautiful Award
presented each year to one male and one female graduate, President John Dowdy
suggested to the Southwest Baptist College Board of Trustees in 1955 that the Life Service Award be given annually to
graduates whose lives have exemplified the principles, which are upheld at
Southwest.
Currently, the SBU National Alumni
Association Board nominates a maximum of six names of prospective recipients
from business, missions, church-related vocations, education and other fields
of service. The recipients are ratified at the May meeting of the SBU Alumni
Board. The award, presented during Honors Chapel at Homecoming by the president
of the University, is the highest recognition that the University can bestow
upon an alumnus or alumna.
Remarks
from the 2012 Life Service Award Winners
Dorothy
Johnson Laverentz ’53
- AA from SWBC in
1953; BA in education from the University of Missouri Kansas City
- Worked at La
Petite Academy
- Attends
Northgate Baptist Church in Kansas City, MO
- 10 years of
service with Meals on Wheels
- Married to
Raymond with one daughter Debbie Howe and husband Kelly. Three grandchildren: Derek, Patrick and
Breanna
Thank you, Dr. Mike Fuhrman, and the SBU
National Alumni Association Board for honoring me with the 2012 Life Service
Award. I could never have imagined that
I would be chosen for this award.
I attended the First Baptist Church of
Appleton City, MO for the first 18 years of my life. St. Clair County was my world. My pastors, V.S. Stanley and C.W. Dorman,
were graduates of SWBC. I am grateful
for my Christian parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, and other leaders in
the church who were my mentors.
A
weekend revival team from SWBC came to our church, and I knew then that I
wanted to attend SWBC. This institution
provided the foundation I needed for growth in my Christian life. Even working as a waitress at SWBC was a
valuable experience. Does anyone
remember the “sad sacks” we packed for the Sunday evening meal? Who named them “sad sacks?”
Thank you fellow alumni, friends of SBU, and
staff for making SBU the spiritual institution that it has become today. I am grateful for the sacrifice my parents
made to make it possible for me to attend SWBC.
We serve an amazing God.
Jacqulyn
Bateman Thorn ’59
- AA from SWBC in
1959; BS in Education from the University of Central Missouri (formerly
CMSU) in 1963; MS in Education from the University of Central Missouri in
1973
- Public school
teacher for 34 years, retired in 1994
- Member of
Hamilton Baptist Church in Hamilton, MO since 1966, serves as church
librarian
- Married to
Gordon Thorn with two step-children: Julie Condit and her husband Eldon of
Colorado, and the late Thomas Thorn and wife Mindy of Iowa; one
granddaughter, Heather and husband Barry Houk, and one great grandson,
Landynn Thomas Houk.
Thank you Dr. Taylor, Lindsay Schindler and
the SBU National Alumni Association Board, David Anderson who originally
nominated me, and any others who had a part in presenting me with this
award. I am deeply honored and very appreciative. I am also thankful for the positive impact
SWBC had on my life. I have warm
memories of my time spent here.
However, this is not about me; it is about my
Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done in my life! “Now all glory to God, who is able, through
his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might
ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 NLT
When I was on campus fifty-three years ago, I
was the least likely person anyone would expect to receive such a prestigious
award in her lifetime. I was extremely
timid and socially challenged. However,
in my misery, a few years later I cried out to God, and life has never been the
same since! From that moment on, God’s
presence has continually been within me and beside me through the ups and
downs, healing, restoring, and guiding me, and living through me to love and
serve others to His glory!
God has uniquely created each of us with
differing personalities, strengths, weaknesses and learning styles. None of which should be judged but all
celebrated as God given gifts. In the
public schools, each learning disabled student is provided, following an
extensive evaluation, an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) for his/her
education. Our loving God also has a
personalized plan for each of our lives and is willing to implement it as we
give him permission. Only then can we
become the person He created us to be.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He
has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned
for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Dr.
Stan Smith ’71
- BA in from SWBC
in 1971; M. Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1975;
D.Min. from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in 1993
- Serves as the
Associate Executive Director and State Director of Missions (28 years) for
the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania-South Jersey
- Attends East
Shore Baptist Church in Harrisburg, PA and serves on the missions
committee
- Married to Lynda
with 2 children: Stanley Smith, Jr. and his wife, Mirna Kenovich, and
their son, Luka Andrew; and Elizabeth Doherty and her husband Ryan
Doherty.
Robert Burton wrote in the early 1600’s “a
dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant
himself.” Though I am deeply humbled and
honored to receive this award, there is a deep sense in which this is more a
story of the men and women upon whose shoulders I was privileged to stand.
Giants like Dr. GH Surrette, who while
serving as our interim pastor came to my home for lunch. I was considering going to a different
college at the time. My mother was
terrified to have a doctor in her home.
He came through the door, took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves,
and asked my mother how he could help in the kitchen. Sensing the call of God on my life, he would,
for unknown reasons, discover at the last minute that he could not make it to
our church on Sunday and ask me to fill in for him. But most important of all, he believed in me
beyond my own confidence in myself. He
challenged me to academic excellence.
Giants like Dr. Dan Cochran.
I was told philosophy would compromise my
faith, but Introduction to Philosophy was a required class. He taught me that all truth came from God; I
did not need to be intimidated by great philosophers. Before class we would meet and play
billiards. He would share and probe and
challenge my thinking. I minored in
philosophy because of him and would have majored in it if it had been
offered.
Drs. Surrette and Cochran matured and
stretched and deepened my faith. Or men
like Dr. James Sells who, as President, took me on the road with him to speak
to groups of potential students or appeal to alumni because he believed that my
story would encourage others. The story
could go on. So today is a continuation
of the stream of investment and return that Southwest Baptist University made
in my life and continues to make. This
is a unique institution with a profound legacy and exciting future, and I am
grateful to be part of its story today.
CH
(COL) Jeff Houston ’75
- BA in Religion
and Music from SWBC in 1975; M. Div. from Golden Gate Seminary in 1989;
Masters of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in 2012
- Chaplain Colonel
in the U.S. Army, 23 years of Active Duty service; four combat tours in
Iraq
- Ordained
Southern Baptist Chaplain endorsed by the North American Mission Board
- Married to Lisa
for 39 years with three daughters: Amy Ashley, Sara Price and Karen Phipps
I am humbled, and honored to accept the Life
Service Award. I praise the Lord for what he has
done, and I give Him thanks for what he continues
to do.
God works through His people. The honor of
this Life Service Award goes to all those who sacrificially poured their lives
into mine. Those unbelievably influential individuals that God placed in my
life to love, teach, and guide me on life's journey.
I am thankful for my wife Lisa and how God
has used her for 40 years to encourage and support me. I am thankful for how
God has used my parents and family to uniquely prepare me for life and
ministry. I am thankful for how God has used great institutions such as SBU to
teach and train me along the way. I am thankful for how God has used friends to
renew a sense of joy and sanity after years of combat ministry to our country's
warriors fighting on foreign soil.
I am thankful for the pastors and teachers on
whose shoulders I am privileged to stand. Those who taught me more about
ministry and serving God than any college, seminary, or textbook ever could.
I am honored to receive this award on behalf
of all these, for if there is ever anything praiseworthy in my life, it is but
a reflection of what God has done through them.
Beth
Toppass Snowden ’51
- AA from SWBC in
1951; BS in Education from the University of Central Missouri (formerly
CMSU) in 1959; Masters of Science in Education from the University of
Central Missouri in 1975
- Retired school
teacher and counselor; 28 ½ years of service
- Charter member
of Susquehanna Baptist Church; teaches Sunday School and sings in the
choir
- Married to the
late Clay Snowden with four children: Carol Hensley and husband Nelson,
Jonathan Snowden and wife Diana; Lyndell Snowden and wife Mary, and Glenn
Snowden
My “wake up” call about SWBC came about when
I was in high school. The women’s
quartet were guest singers at our yearly associational meeting. I was impressed! I wanted to know more about
this college! The singers left a great
impression on me.
What
an experience. I’ll ever be grateful for
the friendships I forged at SWBC. The
Christian love, guidance, and many more examples of what a committed Christian
looks, acts and sounds like were awesome.
These blessings have carried over throughout my lifetime. I can forever be thankful for these gifts of
a loving heavenly father.
I
met my husband on campus. Clay found
Christ as his personal savior through the prayers of his friends and caring
teachers. Our marriage was blessed with
four children, ten grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. We enjoyed
serving our savior through teaching in the public schools. We were active in our local church. One of our richest blessings we experienced
was being a part of a mission team from First Baptist Church in Independence to
form a mission church.
Precious
friendships were formed here on campus. Fellow alumni that we have had a privilege to
meet along our life’s pathway have enriched our lives. We learned to be strong examples of Christian
love and service. We learned we did not
have to be “missionaries to China” to serve our Lord and Savior. We observed by example to be aware of needs
in our families, our neighborhood, and our community.
It
is such a blessing to me to see the expansion of the campus. It means more young people have the
opportunity of study on a Christian campus.
Thank
you SBU for your continuing blessings in my life and in the lives of young
people. May you long continue to be a
living witness of God’s amazing love.
###
Southwest
Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating
Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at
an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic
community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For
more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
SBU’s
Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a
day at (417) 399-7918.
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