To see a photo gallery from the luncheon, go to Award Gallery.

By Meg Cullar

About a hundred people gathered at the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center on Saturday, December 19, to celebrate the accomplishments of two impressive alumni. Family, friends, and Baylor supporters attended a luncheon to honor Melissa Rogers ’88 with the McCall Religious Liberty Award and Kirk Watson ’80, JD ’81, with the Price Daniel Public Service Award.

In her comments to the crowd, Rogers said, “For a lawyer who is a Baylor graduate to receive an award in Abner McCall’s name is just an unbelievable honor.”

Rogers is the director of Wake Forest University Divinity School’s Center for Religion and Public Affairs and as a nonresident senior fellow within the Governance Program of The Brookings Institution.

“I do not consider myself in the company of previous recipients—such as James Dunn and Ed Gaustad,” she added. “I consider this a time of inspiration and a goad to try to carry the torch of religious liberty as ably as they did and do.”

In receiving the Price Daniel Public Service Award, Watson said, “It means a great deal to me to receive an award from the Baylor Alumni Association. So much of what any of us has accomplished is a result of what happened to us on this campus.”

Watson recalled a conversation he had while a Baylor student with his father. Watson wanted to ask his father about finding a “calling,” and his father’s advice came from Romans 12: to find his gifts and use them for the greater good. After choosing a life of service and receiving this honor for public service, Watson said, “I promise I will recommit to my father’s admonition.”

Watson, the former mayor of Austin, is now the Texas state senator for District 14.

Public officials in attendance included Federal Judge Priscilla Owen, former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips, McLennan County Judge Jim Lewis, State Representative Doc Anderson (District 56), 133rd District Judge Jaclanel McFarland, and Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy.

By Claire Moncla

The holidays are about spending time with family and staying connected. And one way to connect with the Baylor family is to support the Baylor Alumni Association, an organization dedicated to keeping the Baylor family fully informed, engaged, and connected.

If you become a member—or just give an additional annual gift if you are already a member—the association will return a gift back to you next April 15. Your membership is important to us. Just this November, we received $149,179, the largest membership revenue total for a single month in the history of the BAA. Your membership also supports this monthly newsletter and allows the association to print and mail the Baylor Line.

But membership also benefits you. Besides supporting your alma mater and keeping in touch with alumni, it can also help you out at tax time. “One hundred percent of gifts and membership dues are tax deductable,” said Chad Wooten, director of finance and operations. If you are seventy-and-a-half years old or older, the recently extended IRA Charitable Rollover allows you to direct charitable transfers of up to $100,000 for an IRA to an approved charitable organization like the BAA, while excluding the transfer from taxable income. This rollover is available for 2009, and these direct transfers can be used for membership or as a gift to the association’s Sesquicentennial Endowment. For more information, contact Wooten at chad@BaylorAlumniAssociation.com or (254) 710-6428.

Also if you are already a member and would like to support the BAA in other ways, we would love for you to consider taking your membership to the next level as an annual giver at the bronze ($100-$249), silver ($250-$499), or gold ($500-$999) member, or as a member of the Torchbearers Society ($1,000 and up).

A strong foundation of members is vital to the future of the association—which directs programs like Homecoming reunions, Heritage Club, alumni awards, and student scholarships—and to the future of Baylor, which depends on the love and support of its alumni. What better way to end the BBA’s Sesquicentennial year, than by giving?

To join or give a gift, go to our secure online form. Checks to the BAA must be dated on or before December 31 in order for them to be considered a charitable donation for 2009.

By Lisa Asher

Want to share photos of your Christmas festivities?! To have them and other favorites included in next month’s family album, e-mail Lisa@BaylorAlumniAssociation.com.

TUTU CUTE: With her green-and-gold tutu, Sophie Lanier Dill is already a fashion maven. Born on June 10, Sophie is the daughter of Luke ‘05 and Amber Nix Dill ‘04. Here the family is enjoying Homecoming weekend in October. Amber can be reached at amber.dill@hotmail.com.

CLASS ACT: Baylor student body president Jordan Hannah (center) was excited to receive his official Baylor Class Ring at the Baylor Alumni Association ring ceremony on December 1. In addition to posing for a photo with BAA executive vice president and CEO Jeff Kilgore (left) and Baylor interim president David Garland (right), ring recipients were treated to a talk by Vince Clark ‘83, JD ‘85, MA ‘91, who explains the meaning of the symbols shown on the class rings.

THE ACTING BUG: In September, Preston ‘68 and Ronda Dale Kirk ‘68 portrayed Roy and Norma Hubley in Neil Simon’s classic comedy Plaza Suite at the Hill Country Community Theatre in Marble Falls. Since then, Ronda has completed a speaking role in Sodom: The Prophecy Armageddon, her first Screen Actors Guild (SAG) contract. Preston is getting a SAG contract for a speaking role in Under The Western Sun, expected to shoot in the spring. Both also worked on episode seven of the TV show Friday Night Lights, which will air on NBC in early 2010. Their acting avocation has landed each of them in more than twenty films since 2003, from background and extras to supporting and lead roles. This fall, they appeared in a scene with Robert DeNiro for the upcoming Robert Rodriguez grindhouse flick Machete. They have both appeared in national commercials and between them have appeared in more than twenty-five stage productions on seven different stages. [kirk@tstar.net]

THE ADAMS FAMILY: On October 18, Austin ‘03 and Tiffany Mathews Adams ‘03 welcomed a son, Mathew Scott. As you can see, he has already mastered the bear claw at an early age! The family lives in Orlando, Florida, and their e-mail is tiff_adams@yahoo.com.

NEWS WORTHY: With coverage in both the New York Times and the Washington Post, last September’s wedding of Kaja Snell ‘98 and Daniel Meade Jr. was the event of the season. Bears making the scene included (left to right): Tim Pewett ‘97 and his wife, Ginnie; Aron Watman ‘00; Tina Gonzalez Spires ‘99; the bride and groom; Russell Sullivan ‘83; Sarah Cole ‘98; Christian Snell ‘01; and Steve Shaffer ‘98, MA ‘00. The wedding took place in Washington, D.C., where Kaja was a senior lobbyist for the Alliance for Retired Americans. They now live in Manhattan, where Dan is a vice president at CP Eaton Partners, and Kaja says she is looking for a job. She gets e-mail at k_snell@hotmail.com.

By Todd Copeland

On June 1, 1979, the Baylor Alumni Association assumed responsibility for overseeing Baylor Nationwide, a program that Baylor had begun in 1977 to connect with alumni across the country by holding alumni gatherings in major cities and establishing program leaders in all fifty states (1979 logo shown).

In describing the new arrangement, future Baylor president and then executive vice president Dr. Herbert H. Reynolds wrote: “One of the most positive changes at Baylor in recent years has been the growth in effectiveness of the Baylor Alumni Association. Alumni have always been vitally interested in Baylor’s future and have contributed immeasurably to Baylor’s progress. However, the advancements of the association in the last four or five years are particularly notable. Response to the new organization with a dues-paying membership structure has been tremendous. The new alumni center is among the finest such facilities in our nation. The staff continues to grow and can undertake more programs to benefit Baylor.”

By Julie Copenhaver

The Baylor Alumni Association (BAA) presented two awards during a luncheon on Saturday, December 19, at the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center. The Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award went to State Senator Kirk Watson ‘81, and Melissa Rogers ‘88 received the Abner V. McCall Religious Liberty Award.

The Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award is presented annually to an individual closely associated with Baylor whose record both exemplifies the spirit of selfless dedication to public service represented by the life and career of the late Governor Price Daniel and reflects the true meaning of Baylor’s official motto, “Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana” (For Church, For State).

The Texas state senator for District 14, Kirk Watson graduated first in his class from Baylor Law School in 1981, only one year after receiving his bachelor’s degree from Baylor. He served as editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review and, upon graduating, clerked for the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. In 1994, Watson was named Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and was elected president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. He was named Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year in 1996 and was selected by his peers to be listed in the publication Best Lawyers in America.

Watson started his political career in 1997 when he ran for mayor of Austin. Winning the race without a runoff, Watson served the city of Austin for four years. In 2006, Watson announced his candidacy for the State Senate in District 14, winning the race and becoming state senator in 2007.

Watson continues to thrive in the political arena, leading the debate on such issues as greenhouse emissions, health care, and transportation. He was named to Texas Monthly’s list of “The 10 Best Legislators” in 2009, and he continues to focus on legislation for the improvement of the state. He is married to Kim McDaniel Watson, and they have two sons, Preston McDaniel and Cooper Kyle.

The McCall Religious Liberty Award honors alumni or friends of the university who, by their lives and actions, have exemplified the courage and dedication of the late Baylor President Abner V. McCall to the belief in and commitment to religious liberty.

A Class of 1988 Phi Beta Kappa from Baylor, Melissa Rogers has authored numerous book chapters and articles about the religion clauses of the First Amendment and other religious liberty issues. In 2008, she co-authored Religious Freedom and the Supreme Court, published by Baylor University Press, and in 2009 President Barack Obama appointed Rogers to his Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Rogers earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was a member of the National Moot Court Team. She led and assisted coalitions pertaining to Religious Land Use and First Amendment rights. She served as general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty and was the founding executive director of the The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

She currently serves as director of Wake Forest University Divinity School’s Center for Religion and Public Affairs and as a nonresident senior fellow within the Governance Program of The Brookings Institution. She is married to Stan Fendley and has two children, Adam and Carter.

Jeff Kilgore, executive vice president and CEO of the BAA, presented the awards on behalf of the organization.

By Meg Cullar

Photograph by Robert Rogers/Baylor Photography

The trophy case of Baylor’s legendary track and field coach Clyde Hart ‘56 has been busting at the seams for quite some time, but now Hart has added an award that is the granddaddy of them all.

Hart was named the World Coach of the Year by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) at the World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo. Hart and his wife–Maxine Barton Hart ‘56, a former Baylor business professor–attended the black-tie dinner in Monte Carlo on November 22, and Hart’s award was presented by Prince Albert II of Monaco. Sanya Richards, the world champion 400-meter runner who is coached by Hart, won the award for Female World Athlete of the Year, and sprinter Usain Bolt took Male Athlete of the Year.

Hart said he was particularly gratified to receive this award because it was from an international group. “In the IAAF, the United States is a very small part,” he told he Baylor Line. “It’s nice to know that your body of work has been noticed by people around the world.”

Hart said he was surprised to be nominated and that he only found out about the nomination about ten days before the presentation. But when he was invited to fly to Monte Carlo for the weekend with his wife, he didn’t hesitate to start packing.

“Actually, the first thing that came to my mind was that the gala was on the day of my wife’s birthday,” Hart said. “This gave me a real out to be able to tell her I was going to take her to Monte Carlo. It was really a first-class event.”

When Sanya Richards accepted her award, she thanked Maxine Hart for sharing Coach Hart with her, Maxine said. “Then she wished me a Happy Birthday. Sanya is a real sweet young lady.”

Maxine said the Harts had met Prince Albert before, at a birthday party for Michael Johnson, the gold-medalist formerly coached by Hart, during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Currently the director of track and field at Baylor, Hart retired as Baylor’s head track coach in 2005 after forty-two years at the helm; he also continues to coach Baylor’s 400-meter sprinters. Hart’s previous coaching honors include USA Track and Field’s Nike Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2006 and NCAA National Indoor Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1996. He was named conference coach of the year five times while head coach at Baylor.