On Wednesday, December 4, 2019, I had the distinct privilege
of attending a special event in Walla Walla, Washington. It was the 137th
Walla Walla Valley Chamber of
Commerce Annual Awards Banquet, an annual event that honors the best of
the Walla Walla community - Higher Education Community Service Awards, Ambassador and Merit Awards, and Hometown Hero Awards (Educator of the Year, Firefighter of the Year, Law Enforcement Officer of the Year). Each recipient was presented by a community leader
and then gave an acceptance speech after receiving the award.
I was invited to the event by my brother, Dr. Austin C. Archer, who received the Walla Walla University Community Service award for his service during his 28-year tenure as a faculty member at WWU Supported by his wife, Beverly, Austin has been a highly respected leader at the university, his local church and the Walla Walla community. In his acceptance speech, Austin used the opportunity to honor our Dad, whose example of frugality, generosity, and service laid the foundation for the academic and personal successes of his children.
In this blog, I share the words of the President of Walla Walla University, Dr. John McVay, who presented Austin, and Austin’s acceptance speech.
Introduction of AUSTIN ARCHER
Chamber of Commerce Community
Service Awards Banquet
December 4, 2019
We at Walla Walla University continue
to treasure the positive ecosystem for higher education in our Walla Walla
Valley. Walla Walla University would not have
come to be without the generous support of citizens of the Valley, including
Dr. Nelson Blalock who contributed 40 acres of land for the construction of the
campus. However, it requires more than land
and buildings to shape a campus. It requires missional infrastructure as well.
This evening gives us opportunity to celebrate one of
the large, strong beams in WWU’s mission, the core theme of generosity in
service. It is
a privilege to affirm that core theme by identifying someone who personifies
how WWU seeks to give back to its community.
The
recipient of this year’s Walla Walla University Community Service Award is Dr.
Austin Archer.
Dr.
Archer and his family arrived in the Walla Walla Valley some 28 years ago in
1991 when Austin joined the faculty of the Walla Walla University School of
Education and Psychology, where he has been teaching ever since. In
addition to that primary teaching assignment, he has served on many campus
governance committees and has twice been elected as Chair of the Faculty.
Being very active in the University Church, he has
represented the church and the University in church constituency meetings,
served for many years as an elder, occasionally led religious education
classes, and has served two stints as the congregation's head elder or lay
leader.
His
educational interests led him to serve for several years on the Rogers
Adventist School Board and for two years he chaired that Board.
Music
is another of his interests and gifts. The fall he arrived in Walla Walla he
was invited to join the choir of the Congregational Church as a section leader
where he sang for several years and subsequently was invited to join the Walla
Walla Mastersingers (under Robert Bode [bo-dee] and has sung the bass solos in
Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Passion According
to Saint Matthew, and other major works.
Some 15 years ago, Austin joined a group of volunteers
who had begun re-entry work at the Washington State Penitentiary. They
engaged with inmates who were within 6 months of release, orienting them to the
world outside of prison, helping them identify housing, planning for further
education, helping them with FAFSA applications, and in other ways prepare for
their release.
These
interventions have been shown to have a significant effect on reducing
recidivism. A
group of them formed a non-profit organization to continue and expand the work
known now as the STAR (Successful Transition and Re-entry) Project. Austin
joined the board as a founding member, eventually serving as President of the
Board.
After a hiatus of a few years, he rejoined the board
in 2017, where he continues to serve.
Not
long after the purchase of a former nursing home building by a group of Adventists
in College Place, Austin was invited to join a steering committee to plan its
transformation into a service center for the community. He
chaired the committee that drafted the initial constitution for what would
eventually become SonBridge Community Center and has served on the Board of
SonBridge since its founding in 2005.
Two
years ago (late 2017) he was appointed by the Walla Walla County Commission to
become a Trustee of the Walla Walla County Rural Library District. This
year he was elected by the Trustees to serve as Chair. Also this year, the citizens of College Place voted to
be annexed to the Library District, which currently maintains libraries in
Prescott, Burbank, Touchet, Vista Hermosa, and Plaza Way in Walla Walla.
We are
pleased to recognize Austin’s vigorous and multi-faceted investment in this
community by awarding him the 2019 Walla Walla University Community Service
Award.
Please
join me in congratulating Dr. Austin Archer.
Dr. Austin Archer and Dr. John McVay |
With Austin and wife Beverly |
Austin and Len Archer |
Austin's Acceptance Speech
One does not do these things for reward. Still it does feel
good to have one’s work recognized. After all, we humans are hard-wired to
welcome recognition. So, I want to thank those who nominated me for this award,
and the University administration for selecting me. I would also like to thank
my colleagues, family members and friends at our table, including my wife
Beverly, and my brother, Dr. Len Archer, here from Florida, having amended a business
itinerary so that he could be here for this event. Thanks also to the Chamber
for making possible this beautiful evening.
I have tried, however feebly, to follow the principle
enunciated by Jesus in Matthew 25:40 CEB “when you have done it for one of the
least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.”
But in recent days as I contemplated this award, I could not help
but think of a man named Henry, who modeled for me the spirit of service. With
no more than an elementary school education, he was committed to the welfare of
his 11 siblings of which he was the oldest son, and nine children (myself
included), whose well-being, especially whose education, was his passion. Beyond
his family, he embodied service to his community; among other things, advocating
for, and pioneering the development of credit unions and cooperative enterprises, first in his
village, and in the small Caribbean island where he lived, mostly without
compensation. He served on school boards, government commissions, and church
committees. An enthusiastic fundraiser, he raised hundreds of thousands of
dollars for humanitarian projects. An
incurable optimist, his favorite saying was “things are getting better“, and he
did what he could to see that things always got better.
Henry Archer left us this year, aged 101, just as the sun
went down on Good Friday. So, I am thinking of my father tonight, and dedicate
this award to his memory.
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There are few times when I have felt more proud to be Austin's brother and I was especially honored to be invited to share this occasion. Congratulations, my brother!