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Bannerman, Carpenter, & Pugsley Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards
Three new awards for Lifetime Achievement were given at the Annual Recreation Workshop (ARW) at Montreat Conference Center. Evelyn Bannerman, George Carpenter, and Neil Pugsley have each served ARW for over 20 years. They were present, along with friends and family, to receive their awards on the last day of this year’s workshop, Friday, May 9, 2008.
Evelyn Bannerman of Montreat, NC, has served as a course leader, Steering Committee member, Assistant Director, and Registrar-Treasurer. She may be best known for her kind and encouraging ways and her behind-the-scenes work, which includes serving as a registrar-treasurer for 22 years (and most of that before computers!). Evelyn has attended ARW for 43 years.
In the 31 years George Carpenter of Greensboro, NC, has attended ARW, he has served as course leader, Steering Committee member, Assistant Director, Director, Music Leader, and Worship Leader. George is still remembered for his side-splitting rendition of the motion song, Wuni Kuni, but may be best known for his wonderful smile, contagious laughter, and insight into the theology of play.
Neil Pugsley of Decatur, TX, has attended ARW for 43 years, 39 of them in a leadership capacity as course leader, Assistant Director, Steering Committee member, Steering Committee chair, Webmaster, fundraiser, and Endowment Committee chair. Neil is best known for his organizational skills, his ability to “read” a group, and for leading innovative parties that creatively mix people into groups that make an event flow ever-so-smoothly.
In giving the awards, current ARW Steering Committee chair Lynn Turnage led with some of these statistics and then said, “If I had to get it to one word, I would say Evelyn IS ‘hospitality,’ George IS ‘theology of play,’ And Neil IS ‘organization.’ We are indebted to these folks for what they have done and how and where they have led ARW.”
Last year, Glenn Bannerman was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award on the anniversary of his 50th ARW event and his 80th birthday.
The Annual Recreation Worship is the premier event for training lay leaders and ministry professionals in recreation, worship, and the arts in a workshop model conference. 2008 was the 54th ARW. Next year’s dates for ARW at Montreat Conference Center are May 4-9, 2009. Learn more…