Kickoff 2017August 28, 2017 (Jackson, Miss) - Every year, Belhaven honors its employees and celebrates the start of a new academic year with its annual service of dedication. Faculty, staff and friends congregated on Wednesday night, August 23 for the 2017 Service of Dedication in the Center for the Arts.

Serving others is at the heart of what makes Belhaven unique, and one of the ceremony's highlights was the Celebration of Faithful Service. A total of 42 honorees were presented with clocks as a reminder of the time they spent faithfully serving the University and its students. The awards recognized staff and faculty for every five-year increment of work.

Also during the program, Belhaven President Dr. Roger Parrott spoke about the significance of the University's 2017-2018 Verse of the Year and its application. The verse is from Ephesians 3:17-18. “Be rooted and grounded in love, that you may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of Christ's love.” He gave an encouraging look at the growth the University and set goals for the coming year. Below is a video of Dr. Parrott's annual address to faculty and staff.

The clock recipients include:

Five Years of Service

Mrs. Lea Ann Bethany
Mr. Dennis Bonds
Mrs. Krista Bower
Dr. Jeff Brannon
Dr. Philip Carlson
Dr. John Estes
Dr. Tracy A. Ford
Dr. Barbara H. Johnson
Dr. Kenneth Jones
Mrs. Crystal Lewis
Mr. Dan Lickness
Mr. Cliff McArdle
Mr. Kyle O'Donnell
Mr. Jeff Rickels
Dr. David Riddering
Mrs. Deborah Shirley
Mrs. Anita Trigg
Mrs. Lacey VanDevender
Mr. Dennis Varner
Mr. Chad Wallace

Ten Years of Service

Mrs. Becky Cochran
Mr. Steve Farmer
Mr. Charles Gaudin
Dr. Paxton Girtmon
Mr. Wayne Green
Ms. Gretchen Haien
Dr. Audrey Kelleher
Mrs. Sandra Kelly
Mr. James Massey
Dr. Lydia McCardle
Mr. Terry McInnis
Mr. Daniel Shaw
Mr. Kevin Taylor
Mrs. Veronica M. Waller
Mr. Ricky White

Fifteen Years of Service

Mr. Charles Matthews
Miss Shekaria Summers
Mr. Nate Theisen

Twenty Years of Service

Mr. Chris Cullnane, II
Mrs. Doreen Fagerheim
Mrs. Virginia C. Henderson
Dr. Donald Hubele