The presentation of the award was made by Donald S. Hepburn, managing director of the Society, on Sunday, May 21, at Elizabeth Baptist Church, on the occasion of the congregation’s 192-year anniversary.

Demott, age 84, is a lifelong member of Elizabeth Baptist Church and has worked diligently since the early 1990s to collect, organize and develop material for a history book on the church that was established in 1831. She made it a goal to write and publish a church history book, the first narrative of its type for the congregation. Publication of the book is set to occur in June.

 In 2022 a special project Demott undertook was the creation of a bronze plaque containing a replica of the church’s original constitution handwritten in 19^th-century English alongside a contemporary language translation. She single-handedly raised the necessary funds to have the bronze display produced by a third-party vendor. The plaque was dedicated by church members during the May 21 morning worship service.

As the Elizabeth Baptist Church-designated historian since the 1950s, Demott has prepared annual church anniversary observance materials, including the development of skits to “bring to life” the church’s historical leaders and events. Additionally, to promote the church’s history and to educate current members, she enlisted other volunteers to establish a designated history display of early information and memorabilia about Elizabeth Baptist Church.

Since 1955, Demott also has served as the church’s volunteer music leader and pianist. She also served for many years as associational music director for Middle Florida Baptist Association. Additionally, for many years she was enlisted by the then-Church Music Department of the Florida Baptist Convention to serve as a leader of specialty conferences for small church music leaders. For 25 years Demott, a wife and mother of four children, taught piano at Aucilla Christian Academy. She pursued formal academic training in music at North Florida Junior College and Florida State University’s School of Music.

According to Hepburn, the Baptist Heritage Award “seeks to recognize and honor those Florida Baptists who have exhibited rare and unusual dedication to the cause of Florida Southern Baptist history.”  This includes having made a significant impact through such tasks as researching and writing Baptist history, teaching Baptist history, preserving Baptist history, and/or promoting the importance of Florida Southern Baptist history.

Since 1997, 26 individuals have received the Baptist Heritage Award from the Florida Baptist Historical Society. These persons represent a broad range of Florida Baptists including pastors, denominational workers, college and seminary professors, and laypersons, who all share an interest and commitment to preserving, researching and publishing about Florida Baptist history.

Carolyn Calhoun, a member of Ancient City Baptist Church in St. Augustine, received the 2022 Baptist Heritage Award on June 12 for her efforts to “preserve, record and publish” the history of her church, the Florida Baptist Historical Society announced.

Calhoun, a lifelong member of Ancient City Baptist Church, made a profession of faith at age 10. For years, she has worked as a volunteer to supplement the church’s published history, “A Long Road with God … 1887 to 1987,” and has established a history room at the church with a display of historic information and memorabilia about Ancient City. She has served for more than 20 years on the church’s history committee. Calhoun, 78, has also taught Sunday School and served on other committees and as a greeter at the church.

“Carolyn Calhoun is a model volunteer church historian who has demonstrated a passion for preserving and organizing the historical records and memorabilia of the Ancient City Baptist Church,” observed Don Hepburn, managing director of the Society.

In making the award presentation on June 12, Hepburn told the congregation that the Society’s six-member board of directors selected Calhoun because she is “a noteworthy individual who diligently committed herself to the preservation and promotion of her local church’s history.”

The Baptist Heritage Award seeks to recognize and honor Florida Baptists who have exhibited rare and unusual dedication to the cause of Florida Baptist history, a news release stated. Since 1997, 25 individuals, including pastors, denominational workers, college and seminary professors, and laypersons, have received the Baptist Heritage Award from the Florida Baptist Historical Society, an entity of the Florida Baptist Convention.

JACKSONVILLE– Vanita Baldwin, beloved prayer warrior, passionate missions educator and Cooperative Program champion, died Feb. 20 at her Jacksonville home. She was 95.

Baldwin served as director of the Florida Baptist Convention’s Woman’s Missionary Union Department from 1977 until her retirement in 1991.

She was born in Oak Hill, Florida in 1926. After retirement, Baldwin remained in her home in Jacksonville and as a member of Southside Baptist Church, now Aspire Church, until her death.

A celebration of her life will be held Thursday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Oak Hill. Interment will follow at the Edgewater-New Smyrna Cemetery. A second celebration will be held at Aspire Church, formerly Southside, on Saturday, Feb 26 at 11 a.m.

“Vanita Baldwin’s impact for the Kingdom cannot truly be measured,” said Cindy Bradley, Florida Baptist catalyst for Women’s Missions and Ministry/Missions Education. “Countless individuals heard her heart for the Savior and making Him known in Florida and around the world. Many were called to missionary service and church ministry because of her influence.”

While Bradley “did not have the privilege of serving under her, I have benefited from the legacy she built. Even after illness kept her confined mostly to home, she continued to serve by encouraging others and praying for them. I am grateful to have been a recipient of her encouragement and prayers. She was a mighty prayer warrior and faithful servant.”

Prior to coming to Florida, Baldwin served as director of Woman’s Missionary Union with the Baptist Convention of New Mexico from 1961-1977 and as associate director of the Alabama Woman’s Missionary Union from 1955-1961.

During her tenure, she visited Florida Baptist churches almost every Sunday, traveled to international mission locations to encourage and support missionaries serving there and led Florida Baptists to create partnerships with other state conventions and countries.  She worked tirelessly to promote Florida and Southern Baptist mission offerings and the Cooperative Program.

In her retirement she was known as a prayer advocate for Florida and Southern Baptists’ needs and concerns—as she had done in her ministry role.

Upon her retirement, the Florida Baptist State Convention approved a resolution of appreciation, stating “her example, Christian spirit and missions vision have inspired others to give more to mission causes and to become personally committed to missions outreach.”

It expressed “gratitude to God for the faithful, willing service…and for her outstanding leadership in helping Florida Baptists churches provide missions education for women, youth, children and preschoolers.”

Prior to her retirement, Jack Brymer, who then served as editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, said Baldwin’s tenure in Florida “has not always been smooth sailing. During the 1980’s membership in Woman’s Mission Union declined not only in Florida but through the Southern Baptist Convention, yet she remained optimistic and worked even harder until the downward trend was reversed.”

He added, “Unwavering in her commitment to the Cooperative Program and home and foreign missions, Miss Baldwin has been a prophetic voice, insisting on the use of Southern Baptist literature to promote and preserve our distinctive missionary heritage.”

Baldwin was a graduate of Stetson University in DeLand, and received a master of religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 1955. In 1990, she received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Stetson University, where she also received the award of Outstanding Alumni in 1989.

Baldwin served on numerous committees of National Woman’s Missionary Union, Southern Baptist Convention. She served on the WMU Foundation, Birmingham, Alabama for six years and Florida Baptist Financial Services in Jacksonville for six years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers and sisters. She is survived by 10 nieces and nephews and many great nieces and nephews. She is survived by long-time friend and ministry associate Frances Shaw.

Hickem served as assistant executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention from August 1974 until 1983. In this role, he worked with over 2,000 Southern Baptist churches in the state, especially in pastor/staff and church relations. He oversaw all convention properties from Miami to the Panhandle.

Throughout his 55 years in ministry, Hickem served Southern Baptist churches in four states– Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida, and Georgia. Prior to coming to the Florida Convention, Hickem served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Panama City, from 1966 to 1974, a church that he returned to in his retirement years.

Upon leaving the Convention, Hickem went back into the local church, serving as pastor of the Riverside Baptist Church in Jacksonville. In 1984 he was elected president of the Florida Baptist State Convention and served for one year. During his adult life, Hickem led more than 30 overseas tourist and mission trips to the Holy Land, and dozens of countries in Europe, Asia, Africa & Australia. In addition to his ministry career, he maintained a simultaneous military career.

He received the master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Stetson University in May 1977.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Billie Jean; a daughter, Debbie Forrester; two grandchildren, his parents and sister, and other loved ones. He is survived by his daughter, Christy Deese (Harold); his son, Rev. Neil Hickem, both of Panama City; and his daughter, Becky Stanslaski (Dave) of Boone, NC; and seven grandchildren & seven great grandchildren

A dedicated Christian layperson, Wood arrived at the Convention in May 1983 and served faithfully until Dec. 31, 2011.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Roblyn Wood of Jacksonville.

During his 28 years of ministry with Florida Baptists, Wood led the Convention’s effort in the development, production and distribution of audio-visual media, all designed to tell the story of Florida Baptists at work in mission and ministry activities. Through well-crafted scripts, combined with the use of state-of-the-art media technologies and other on-line venues, the wordsmith produced hundreds of video productions that featured and uniquely showed Florida Baptists on mission for the cause of Jesus Christ.

He was recognized across the Southern Baptist Convention for his video storytelling gifts and technological expertise.

“Ty was an award-winning video producer, a consummate storyteller and a pioneer in the area of electronic media production among Baptists,” said Doug Rogers, president of Baptist Communicators Association, which honored Woods as a Lifetime Member in 2012.

“He spent a career, in his words, ‘telling stories of anonymous miracles where the kingdom of God is being built every day,’” said Rogers, who serves as director of communications and technology services for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “And while he’s enjoying the reward of a ‘good and faithful servant,’ the work of building the kingdom continues here on earth.”

A dedicated and active church member, Wood applied his talents and abilities as an ordained deacon, Sunday school teacher and lay leader in several local Baptist congregations where he was a member.

Prior to coming to the Florida Baptist Convention, the Covington, Ga., native served in a variety of media-related positions in California and Texas; and in the U.S. Army, both on active duty and in the reserves, 1966-1976, including a stint in Vietnam.

The funeral is set for Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 11:30 a.m. at the St John’s Cathedral in downtown Jacksonville, followed by burial at the Jacksonville National Cemetery.

Visitation will be held Monday, Dec. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Oaklawn Cemetery chapel on San Jose Boulevard in Jacksonville.

Pastor Emeritus Gary Crawford served alongside Kirby for 29 years—first in her role as executive assistant to the pastor and then in the finance department. He said Kirby was “a faithful follower of Jesus Christ,” who had proven “trustworthy in every arena of ministry.

“She was not only professionally, but also personally, involved in the mission of the church: ‘To bring the Hope of Christ to all people.’ She did that by taking the gospel across the street and to difficult places around the globe,” he said.

“Not only did she go, but she also led teams. Not just a few people, but sometimes up to 64 team members at one time. She led teams to some of the largest cities in the world down to the most remote villages high in the mountains.”

Crawford added that she was “pivotal” in crusades, church planting and church revitalization, calling her “fearless and tough as well as tender and compassionate.”

“It has been people like Brenda Kirby that the Lord used to build a church of global influence. A church where ‘friends become family.’ A church that over the years, saw 150 men and women called to ministry and missions, now serving across the U.S. and around the world. A church of spiritual fiber, warm hearts, hardworking and genuine faith, that led to adventurous risk and honorable sacrifice. Brenda’s work empowered such people because she was one of them.”

In 1895, the 16-membered church joined the Lake County Baptist Association as a charter member of the association. Originally named West Apopka Missionary Baptist, the church met in the schoolhouse building still on the property.  The building has been recently remodeled.

In 1924 with the completion of its first church building, the congregation voted to change its name to Ferndale Baptist Church to reflect the name of the community.

Gordon “Bird” Sanders has served as pastor of the church for more than seven years.

Former Pastor Scott Fortenberry will serve as guest speaker for the celebration that will begin at 9 a.m., followed by worship at 10:30 a.m. with special guests for speaking and music.  Afternoon festivities will continue the celebration with the singing group, Ricky Atkinson and Compassion.

Ferndale Baptist Church is located at 15050CR  561A, in Clermont.

By Jinell Carroll, November 10, 2020