RICHMOND — Laura S. McDaniel has been recommended to become executive director/treasurer of Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia.
McDaniel, who has been WMUV's interim executive director/treasurer since February 2007, was selected by the organization's board of trustees on June 13.
The recommendation will be presented to a meeting of WMUV members on Sept. 6, said WMUV president Becky McKinney. The time and place is to be announced later.
Photo by Jim White
Laura McDaniel (right) chatted with the late Alma Hunt at WMUV's annual meeting last November at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center.
“This will be a special time for not only the election of our executive director/treasurer, but also a time of celebration and commitment for the women across our state as we reflect on the rich heritage and the exciting future of WMUV,” said McKinney. “Throughout our history God has been faithful to call the right leadership for that day and we are thankful God continues to call gifted and visionary leadership for this time, building on those who have come before.”
If elected, McDaniel will succeed Earlene Jessee as chief officer of the 134-year-old missions advocacy organization. Jessee retired from the position in 2006.
McDaniel joined the WMUV staff as assistant executive director in 2005. In that role she helped Jessee oversee WMUV operations, with special attention to the organization's CrossRoads Camp and Conference Center, which has been transitioning into a health and wellness center for Virginia Baptists. She also directed WMUV's volunteer mission connections and managed corporate resources and partnering ventures.
To faciliate her oversight of the conference center, she continued to live in nearby Lynchburg, where she is a member of Rivermont Avenue Baptist Church.
Earlier, McDaniel was an attorney, practicing with firms in Lynchburg and Washington, D.C.
She is a graduate of James Madison University and George Mason University School of Law.
Before joining WMUV's staff, McDaniel was involved in the organization as a volunteer, serving on its board of trustees, on its conference center's council, and on the Co-Missioners Council, a joint oversight group of WMUV and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.
She also has been on the board of directors of Virginia Baptists' Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership and a director of the Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity.
Her husband, Henry, is an on-site manager for English Construction in Lynchburg and she has one teenaged son, Patrick.
“After a thorough and prayerful search and interviewing gifted applicants, the search committee affirmed Laura's passion for missions and her unique giftedness and experience to lead WMUV into the future,” said McKinney. “We look forward with great anticipation to all God has in store for WMUV under Laura's leadership as we step boldly into the future remaining true to our heritage, giving a voice to women in Baptist life; continuing to be about women who choose to unite through their diversity and respond with a missional purpose; creating opportunities for each woman, regardless of age or background, to live out the call God has uniquely placed on her life; and providing avenues where women discover their gifts and passions to serve others through missions and ministry.”