IMPORTANT NEWS: The response to our Hall of Fame Awards Banquet has been overwhelmingly positive! If you have not purchased a reservation online with a credit card or if your check for payment is not on its way to the BLF office, then you do not have a seat—all reservations have been sold! We have disabled the credit-card payment option in the form at the end of this post, but if you still wish to attend, please complete the form and choose the check option and we will create a waiting list based on the order we receive your submissions. It is possible that places may open up and become available, so please act immediately! Thanks.
The Baylor Line Foundation is proud to announce the winners of our Hall of Fame Alumni Awards, The awards dinner, which returns after a four-year absence on Jan. 28, 2017, will be held in the Barfield Drawing Room at the Student Union Building (1311 South 5th St.). There’s a form at the bottom of the post with information on sponsorships and ticket information.
Distinguished Alumni Awards
- Brett James Cornelius ‘91, a wildly successful Grammy-award winning songwriter known professionally as Brett James, who has written 2,500 songs and 25 No. 1 hits, including Jesus Take the Wheel.
- Jimmy Dorrell ’72, MES ’93, and Janet Dorrell ’80, MS ’02, the founders and leaders of Mission Waco, a non-profit that has grown to employ 29 full-time and 46 part-time employees and oversee the efforts of 3,000 people (including hundreds of Baylor students) donating 36,000 hours per year.
- Trey Gowdy ‘86, a third-term U.S. congressman from South Carolina and a widely praised former federal prosecutor who spent six years in the 1990s on cases ranging from narcotics trafficking and bank robberies to child pornography and the murder of a federal witness.
Outstanding Young Alumni Awards
- Breyana Segura ’07, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Frio-Nueves Current and the South Texas Press Association’s Journalist of the Year in 2016.
- Jimmy Walker ’02, a professional golfer who, after playing in 187 events without a win on the PGA Tour, won three times in the first eight events of the 2014 season and won the 2016 PGA Championship.
W.R. White Meritorious Service Award: Walter Abercrombie ’86, who was a first-round draft pick (12th selection overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1982 and played for the Steelers from 1982-87 before spending his final two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1988-89. He serves as the executive director of the Baylor “B” Association, the 700-member organization of former letter winners.
Abner V. McCall Humanitarian Award: Ervin Randle ’85, who spent eight years in the National Football League as a middle linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1985-90) and the Kansas City Chiefs (1991-92) and now owns Classic Lawton Chevrolet in Oklahoma and is an active contributor to the community.
First Families of Baylor Award: The Russell Dilday Family, led by Russell ’52 and Betty Doyen Dilday ’52, who are their class president and secretary respectively. Russell served as a Regent from 1966-69, as special assistant to the president from 1994-2000, and won the BAA Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983..
George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award: Dr. Bill Skaar ’81, who joined First Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, Texas as its pastor in June 1999 after serving for nine and a half years with Central Baptist Church, Livingston, Texas.
Herbert H. Reynolds Retired Faculty Members and Administrators Award: Alan Cook ’59, M.S. ’63, who taught a variety of courses, including International Finance and Latin American Economic Development, and served as Director of Special Projects for the Hankamer School of Business, and was responsible for developing relationships with many different constituencies in business and social service organizations. He was also Baylor’s representative to the Association of Colleges and Universities for International-Intercultural Studies (ACUIIS), which arranged student study-abroad programs in Europe and Asia.
Dress for this event is Business Attire. Please note that all Underwriters (sponsors, tables, and individual seats) will be recognized in the program and at the event.
As a reminder, the John and Eula Mae Baugh Foundation has graciously agreed to MATCH all gifts we receive, up to $175,000! Your gift will have DOUBLE the impact! In addition, since we are a 501(c)(3) organization, you can use your company matching-gift program to further increase your impact! You can learn more at http://doublethedonation.com/BaylorLineFoundation.
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