Shorter University honors Derek Spain as Minister of the Year

November 1, 2010 - Derek Spain was named Shorter University’s Minister of the Year for 2010. Spain, a 1993 religion and philosophy graduate of Shorter, was recognized for this award during a recent chapel service. The award, presented annually to a Shorter graduate, recognizes Spain’s work as a pastor and his significant contributions to the welfare of his community, to Shorter University and to the Kingdom of Christ.

Spain, who also holds a Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, currently serves as pastor of Lake Placid Baptist Church in Lake Placid, NY. Spain also held the position of official chaplain to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Spain has served as a resort missionary with Southern Baptist’s North American Mission Board and in addition to his pastoral role, serves as director of Lake Placid Baptist’s North Country Ministries. He also serves as a special ministries consultant for the Baptist Convention of New York.

University Alumni Director Mark Tunnell, right, presents Derek Spain with the 2010 Minister of the Year Award.

 “Derek has impacted the lives of numerous Olympic athletes through leading Bible studies and encouraging them to develop a closer walk with Christ through his mission work in New York,” said Shorter University President Dr. Harold Newman. “Derek has also demonstrated a commitment to serving the Lord through his life and has claimed as his life mission ‘to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.’ At Shorter, we believe he accomplishes this goal through preaching, teaching, living and serving at his church and in the Lake Placid community. We are honored to present Derek Spain with this prestigious award, and we thank him for his service to Shorter, his community and to Christ.”

Derek and his wife, Kim Gomez Spain, also a Shorter graduate, have two sons, Joseph and Andrew, and one daughter, Emma Grace.

Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christian college committed to excellence in education. Since 2003, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Shorter among the South’s best baccalaureate colleges, and the Princeton Review annually includes Shorter on its lists of best value and best Southeastern college. The university offers traditional bachelor’s degrees in 48 major areas as well as undergraduate degree programs for working adults, the Master of Business Administration, the Master of Education and the Master of Arts in Leadership. General education and calculus courses are offered in an online format, and Shorter recently launched online programs that lead toward the Associate of Science, the Bachelor of Business Administration, and the Master of Accountancy degrees. For more information, visit www.shorter.edu.


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