RICHMOND, Va. — Four Virginia Baptists have been recognized nationally for their work in disaster relief ministries.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board presented its outstanding achivement award to Paul and Gerri McDaniel of Roanoke, Va., and its distinguished service award to Patrick and Dana Johnson of Gate City, Va. The awards were announced in early May during an annual disaster relief roundtable at Green Lake, Wisc.
The McDaniels were two of three people who received NAMB’s Joel W. Phillips Outstanding Achivement Award, which is presented annually to disaster relief volunteers who have demonstrated outstanding ability and provided significant leadership over several years of disaster relief involvement.
Gerri McDaniel
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Paul McDaniel
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Paul is a member of Lynn Haven Baptist Church in Vinton. He has served as one of Virginia Baptists “white hats” (overall coordinator) and as a “blue hat” (unit leader) in recovery and shower since 2006. Trained in feeding, recovery and water purification, he has served in nearly all of Virginia Baptists’ multistate responses and regularly leads smaller teams to disasters that receive little media attention.
Gerri is a member of Belmont Baptist Church in Roanoke. A retired parish nurse coordinator, she has been a “blue hat” in crisis care chaplaincy since 2006. She is trained in feeding, recovery, administrative staff and crisis care chaplaincy and, like her husband, has responded to both multistate and more regional disaster call outs.
“Both of them have been leaders for many years to help guide and shape the ministry of Virginia Baptist disaster relief,” said Dean Miller, who coordinates disaster relief for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.
Patrick Johnson
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Dana Johnson
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The Johnsons were among six people who received the 2010 Distinguished Service Award, which annually recognizes distingushed contributions during a specific disaster event and is based on the most recent year of response.
Both are members of Moore’s Memorial Baptist Church in Gate City, where Patrick, now retired, formerly served as pastor. He is a “blue hat” in recovery and shower and a “white hat” in feeding and water purification and has extensive training in feeding, recovery, water purification and crisis care chaplaincy.
Dana is a retired school teacher and is trained in feeding, temporary child care, administrative staff and crisis care chaplaincy.
In 2009 the Johnsons were both leaders in training and in the design and maintenance of several new units.
“One of their many outstanding moments was providing leadership to the feeding unit that was deployed during the late December snowstorm that gripped the southwest portion of our state,” said Miller. “They served nearly nonstop for two weeks, delaying their Florida vacation plans and even rising early on Christmas morning to prepare meals for those in need.”