Servant Leadership Awards Presented

08/28/09

Belton, Texas - Two students from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor were the recipients of a prestigious award during the university's fall convocation today. Audrey Chumchal and Tommy Wilson received the Gary and Diane Heavin Servant Leadership Award, which recognizes UMHB students who have committed an extraordinary amount of time and energy to ministry and community service during their years of study at UMHB.

The awards included a $1,000 cash award for each student, a portion of which they donated to an organization of their choice. Gary and Diane Heavin of Waco established a permanent endowment to fund the award, to remind UMHB students the importance of philanthropy, ministry and community service.

Audrey Chumchal is a Christian Biblical Studies major and Biblical languages minor at UMHB. She has been an active member of the university Honors Program throughout her college career.

Audrey is known for her strong commitment to community service. Not only has she been involved several years in volunteering in the community through Reaching Out, but she also assisted with a fundraiser this summer for the Federation of Women's Club in Temple. Audrey also has taken a leadership role in Mission Emphasis Week and, according to Shawn Shannon, director of the Baptist Student Ministries, Audrey received an award for Character because in all these things "she shows compassion, wisdom, depth, and love." This summer Audrey served as a missionary for six weeks in Central Asia.

Audrey also has been extremely involved in campus life. Her freshman year, Audrey won the coveted crown of Miss Mary Hardin-Baylor 2007. She represented the freshman class, and for the remainder of 2006-07 she represented the university in various capacities as Miss MHB. That same year she was also involved in Crusader Knights, House Council, Gamma Beta Phi, was the emcee for Stunt Night, and taught and directed sign language for the Easter Pageant. She has continued to participate in Miss MHB pageants, leading the devotionals and chairing committees. Audrey has served as a University Ambassador and a Residence Hall Assistant in Burt Hall and Huckins Apartments.

Audrey is the daughter of William and Yvonne Chumchal of Fulshear, Texas. She has chosen to donate a portion of her award to the Voice of the Martyrs program called "Bibles Unbound." This program provides Bibles for people in countries which are hostile to Christianity. In her words, "The gift of truth is the greatest thing to provide people, especially those under persecution."

Tommy Wilson is a senior international business major with a heart for missions. The son of Mark and Jenci Wilson of Charlotte, Texas, he is known for scheduling his time on weekends, breaks, and holidays to serve others. In fact, as a sophomore Tommy interrupted his college career for a year to serve as a youth minister in Hong Kong. Upon his return to UMHB, he began to mobilize others to serve. Tommy organized and led a group of 23 students to Vidor, Texas, to clean mud out of homes in the wake of Hurricane Ike. He has been involved in Crusaders for Christ, Prayer Ministry, Ministry Leadership Counsel, FOCUS, Reaching Out community service co-director, Hebrew Honor Society, and the Revival Committee.

During the summer of his freshman year, Tommy served as a missions volunteer in Kenya, Africa, and he returned to Kenya as a mission trip leader his junior year. Tommy also worked at First Baptist Belton as a youth intern, was an RA in Gettys Hall, and served as the director of spiritual life in the Student Government Association his junior year. This year he is serving as Student Body President and as a University Ambassador.

Tommy is donating a portion of his award to two non-profit organizations: Operation H-2-0, a water well drilling ministry in Kenya, and Build the Village, a Christian humanitarian organization also located in Kenya.