David G. (right) & Doug F. (President of Choices for Life) |
David Gadberry (Oklahoma City)
| David Gadberry is the Senior Associate Pastor at Church of the Harvest in Oklahoma City and he is being honored for his work with Royal Family Kids’ Camp. This camp specializes in providing a week of positive memories for foster children in a safe, Christian environment. Each child is assigned an adult camp counselor and receives one-on-one encouragement, support, and understanding. Pastor Gadberry and all of the faithful volunteers at the camp have provided experiences that our kids will never forget. They are a true example of what it is to Leave your Mark on a child.
David is the father of two girls, ages 13 and 6, and the husband of Janae Gadberry, a second Grade Teacher and an incredible ministry partner. Together they have been in ministry for right at nineteen years full time. David has served in many capacities in ministry from Children’s ministry to Senior Pastoring, with an emphasis on local and global missions outreach.
David has a heritage in ministry; he is the son of a Pastor and the Grandson of a Pastor. David says, “I love my life. I love having the opportunity to live this faith adventure for God and to help people every day, what more could you ask for. Living for the greatest Cause Ever, Christianity, what’s not to love?”
David, Janae and the girls have been with church of the harvest just under a decade and love their church. A church committed to changing the world. David is committed to speaking, encouraging, building people, and projects for the purpose of winning people to Christ. He is focused on producing potential in people through team building, personal coaching, and preaching / teaching. David communicates in a clear and inspirational way to leaders with messages that will challenge and propel them to move beyond personal and career lids in their lives.
The Award is sponsored by:
Rachael Collins
Allegiance Credit Union
(405) 717-9039
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Richard C. Hatfield Jr (Checotah) | Richard has been in the education field as a math and social studies secondary teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, and superintendent for 27 years. He started in January of 1978 teaching, coaching and was an assistant principal in Thoreau, New Mexico and was there for 15 years. He also taught one year in Evanston, Wyoming. In 1996, his family and him moved to Okemah where he became the high school principal for 5 years. In 2001, he moved to Wilson Public Schools in Okmulgee County and assumed the Superintendent position, which he still holds today. Richard is a school principle that has shown understanding, compassion, and dedication to the foster children in his school. He is so willing and ready to work with
our foster children and when there are concerns at school he goes above
and beyond his duties to accommodate our children. He has worked with the Choices for Life treatment team to insure that each child can have the best school experience possible.
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Mary Walters (Sapulpa) | Mary is honored for her work with Community Action. She is the director of Community Care of Sapulpa, which provides assistance with clothing, food, medical needs, etc. to families in Creek County in need, whether it be from unemployment, fires, or just in need.
Mary Walters has been the Executive Director for Community Care Inc. of Sapulpa since May 1993. The agency is celebrating their 15th anniversary on April 17th of this year. Community Care provides basic needs for families in Creek County. They provide food, clothing, infant and children's needs. They also provide assistance with utility bills and prescription costs when funding is available.
Mary's community involvement includes:
- Creek County Inner Agency
- Program Manager for Share of Colorado (a food program)
- President of the Sapulpa Community Theater
- On the Board of Directors for Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma
- Her and her husband are both Ministers at the Cathederal of Love Church in Sapulpa
- She also teaches weekly classes of self-esteem and goal setting at the Oklahoma Victory Transformation Center
When asked why she loves working with families in need Mary's responses were ... she has empathy for each situation and that her goal is to help families when their hands are down to help raise their hands up. Also to allow families to live up to their potential and to realize that they have strengths that they didn't realize they had. To empower. Mary and her husband Kenneth, have 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and 3
great-grandchildren. Mary is the oldest of 10 siblings. She feels
this is why leadership skills has always been in her blood. Mary's husband Kenneth, is very supportive of all her endevers. They both have strong beliefs that what they do is ordained of God. They enjoy each others company.
The Bench is sponsored by:
Randy Bowen Chevrolet | Pontiac-GMC, INC.
Chandler, OK
(405) 258-0055
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Penny Turner (Valdosta)
| Mrs. Penny Turner has been selected for the 2008 “Leave Your Mark” award by Choices for Life of Georgia, LLC. She is one of the most knowledgeable persons in our community regarding child welfare. She has worked with the Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) since 1995 and currently serves as their Social Services Administrator. As Administrator, she has restructured Social Services, improving service delivery to ensure ethical and effective treatment for children. This also entails a diligent search for relatives for children who are placed in foster care as well as loving and nurturing foster parents that are capable of not only meeting foster children’s physical needs, but their emotional needs as well. Mrs. Turner was instrumental in creating and implementing parenting classes for DFCS and they have continued to evolve. She currently serves as their United Way FEMA representative as well.
Mrs. Turner is a devoted child advocate. She has been a part of the Prevent Child Abuse Lowndes County Council for 13 years and has assumed various responsibilities within this council. She was awarded their Volunteer of the Year Award in 2001. She has served on the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) Board, a non-profit agency that provides forensic interviews and ongoing counseling for abused children, for three years where she co-chaired the Fundraising Committee and was instrumental in obtaining over $50,000 for the CAC. She attends CAC Team Reviews and assists to guide cases to desired outcomes as well. She furthermore serves as the record keeper and reports all statistics for the Lowndes County Child Fatality Review Committee and is available 24/7 to her staff to assist them in their quest to advocate for children.
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