Dr. Smith reconnects with Fort Worth-Dallas alumni at CGE meeting

Dr. David R. Smith, president of Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, recently hosted several BPC alumni studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas for dinner at El Fenix in Fort Worth. Pictured from left to right are: Dr. Smith, Chris Rainey, Lindsey (Hamrick) Rainey, Suzanne (Emeott) McWhorter, Ryan McWhorter, Jamie Meador and Kim Knighton.

Dr. Smith was in the Fort Worth-Dallas area to preside over the 22nd annual meeting of the Consortium for Global Education (CGE), Sept. 23-25 on the campus of Dallas Baptist University.
Dr. Smith has served as chairman of the CGE board the last two years, and is now the immediate past chair and serves on the executive board.

CGE membership is comprised of 45 Baptist colleges and universities with combined enrollments of around 50,000 students and 10,000 faculty.

Chili Cook-off looking for teams, entertainers

If you would like to participate in the 2nd Annual BPC Chili Cook-off, please contact Barbara Keel at 912-583-3202, or email bkeel@bpc.edu. If you would like to provide entertainment during the event, or purchase pre-sale tickets, call Jennifer Blaylock at 912-583-3210 or email jblaylock@bpc.edu.

DATE: Oct. 24, 2009
WHERE: Banks of Jones Lake on the Mount Vernon campus
TIME: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Click on the picture for full size and more information.

BPC '00 alum signs current student to recording contract

Lisa Taylor, current BPC freshman

Martin Luther Wardlaw, BPC Class of 2000 & member of nationally-recording gospel group, The Wardlaw Brothers.

Brewton-Parker College 2000 alum and national gospel recording artist, Martin Luther Wardlaw of the Wardlaw Brothers, signed current BPC freshman Lisa Taylor to a recording contract with his record label, Stack That Entertainment. Stack That Entertainment is an independent label founded by Wardlaw and based in Vidalia, Ga. Taylor is recording her first album to be released in March 2010.

A full story will be published on the BPC News & Info web page.

Campers on a Mission fix up BPC's Briscoe Center

Grace and Ray Criswell of Mount Vernon, members of Campers on a Mission, paint the rockers from the front porch of Brewton-Parker’s Briscoe Center. This volunteer group of retired campers fixed up the outside of the home of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries in late July. Criswell is a BPC alum and former Director of Campus Life in the mid-80s. (Photo by Beth Griffin)

A full article will run on the BPC web page this week: www.bpc.edu

Letter to BPC about the flu

The following letter was sent out last week regarding the flu season. Hand sanitizers have been purchased and placed in all BPC dorms and buildings. An influenza symptoms flyer will be placed in all campus mailboxes and emailed campus wide.

"Dear students, faculty, staff and parents:

Fall semester 2009 has had a great start for our campus. With record numbers of new students, we will keep you very busy with classes and activities. We also want to offer recommendations to stay healthy throughout the year. As you may know, flu season is fast approaching. We are taking steps to prevent the spread of flu at Brewton-Parker College for as long as possible, but, we need your help to accomplish this.

We are working closely with the South Central Health District, CDC and BPC infirmary to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning our institution. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available to us. For now, we are doing everything we can to keep our institution operating as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help:

1. Practice good hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective, and available across campus.

2. Practice respiratory etiquette by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough and sneeze. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; germs spread this way.

3. Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. A fever is a temperature taken with a thermometer that is equal to or greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Look for possible signs of fever: if the person feels very warm, has flushed appearance, or is sweating or shivering.

4. Stay home if you have the flu or flu-like illness for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever or signs of a fever. This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications. Don't go to class or work.

5. Talk to your health care providers about whether you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu. Also, if you are at higher risk for flu complications from 2009 H1N1 flu, you should consider getting the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. For information about priority groups for vaccination, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination.

For more information about the flu in our community and what Brewton-Parker College is doing, visit BPC website or call BPC Student Affairs office at 912-583-3206. We will notify you by email, institutional Website, and BPC's pages on Facebook and Twitter, of any additional changes to our institution's strategy to prevent the spread of flu on our campus.

Sincerely,

Sherrie Helms
Dean of Students"

In the name of science

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Xb9WChq08

Check out this video of Dr. Chris Jones, chemistry professor at Brewton-Parker College, demonstrating kinetic and potential energy by BUNGEE JUMPING!

Orientation Update

All future Barons!

Orientation is just around the corner, and we want to ensure that you have everything necessary to begin your collegiate career at BPC. Barry the Baron - our mascot - wanted you to know that move-in is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday, August 21.

Upon arriving to campus, please meet at the Phillips Student Center. To ensure your spot, your FREE BPC STUFF, and an orientation experience like no other, Barry requests you RSVP to our website: www.bpc.edu/orientation.

Orientation is a great time to meet lifelong friends, learn about the history and traditions of Brewton-Parker College, and get comfortable with your new "home away from home". Barry has also told us that this event is MANDATORY for all incoming students, so we do hope to see you there!

Plus, we don't like to get Barry angry at us... You wouldn't want a Scottish warlord angry at you would you?

- Admissions and Student Affairs

BPC on Facebook

www.facebook.com/brewtonparker

Brewton-Parker College now has 556 fans on Facebook -- and is looking for more.

We've found that the site is fun for our students - both current and alumni, and even prospective - to share information, like photos. We have a video on there, and I'm hoping we will have more to come this year when students return to campus. We have a YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/brewtonparkercollege - where we'll house some videos from Orientation this year.

If you aren't yet a fan, friend us. :)

- Kelley

Kazakhstan: Missions and college credit

In the above video, Dr. Hal Ostrander, chair of the Division of Religion and Philosophy at Brewton-Parker College, (blue shirt, on the right end in the third row) listens in as youth of the Baptist Church of Astana, Kazakhstan join in song as a special presentation. Dr. Ostrander visited the church in May 2008 to prepare for a future trip for Brewton-Parker College students.
Dr. Ostrander and a team of BPC students and faculty returned to Astana in March 2009. A story about the trip will be published on the BPC website under the News and Info pages next week. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the March 2009 trip, and another video from the May 2008 trip.

Some interesting facts about Kazakhstan:

• There are over a million people living in the capital city of Astana, but only 1 Baptist church.
• The country is named after a nomadic tribe of people called the Kazakhs who lived in yerts, tent-like homes, on the steppes.
• Allows freedom of religion, the diversity includes Sunni Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2% and other 7%. (U.S. Dept. of State website)
• Government: Republic. Kazakhstan declared itself an independent country on December 16, 1991 - the last of the Soviet Republics to do so.
• Language: The "state" language is Kazakh but official is Russian. Russian is the language of business.
• 98.4 % literacy rate
• Ninth largest nation in the world

May 2009

The BPC Team includes Dr. Ostrander, Caroline Hegerich (sophomore Christian Studies major), Luis Gonzalez (sophomore Christian Studies major) and Tony Higgins (adjunct faculty at BPC Norman Park).



Caroline Hegerich, second from left, and Luis Gonzalez, third from left, speak to two Russian young ladies at the "Be On Fire" Youth Conference, held in the Baptist church in Astana, in March 2009.




One of the largest mosques in Astana, Kazakhstan




Dr. Hal Ostrander, left, Caroline Hegerich, Don and Diane Combs, and Luis Gonzalez, enjoy a delicious meal in the Combs' home. The Combs are missionaries to Kazakhstan.




Luis Gonzalez puts his hand in the handprint of Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, at the top of the tower Baiterek, called the Tree of Life.




Caroline Hegerich dances the traditional two-step with two Russian youth and a missionary.

To learn more about participating in a mission trip to Kazakhstan or other foreign locale with Brewton-Parker College, please contact Dr. Ostrander at hostrander@bpc.edu.

March 2008 video

Go to BPC's YouTube Channel to see more: www.youtube.com/brewtonparkercollege or click the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsDDk0qfRqI

BPC student, Kolby DePratter, serves on mission trip to Istanbul, Turkey

Kolby DePratter, a Brewton-Parker College Mount Vernon campus student and president of the college's Baptist Collegiate Ministries, is one member of a mission team sent from Emmanuel Baptist Church (Blackshear, Ga.) this summer. Kolby is pictured third from left in the back row of the above picture.

Below, Kolby, center, leads a water toss for children in Istanbul, Turkey. Kolby writes: "We are working in a very poor part of Istanbul," and asks for "prayer for the parents of the children we are working with and the children themselves." Click on the picture below to see more photos from the EBC trip.



A full article is in the works from the Office of News & Public Information. Until then, please enjoy this video made by Kolby about the EBC's trip.

Water Day from ebcglobal on Vimeo.