2022 B.E.S.T Award recipients announced

On Oct. 24, 2022, Texas Baptists announced the winners of the 2022 Baptist Educators Serving Texans (B.E.S.T.) Award. The award celebrates Christian educators who are living out their faith daily among their students and the Texas Baptists institutions that taught them. Nine award recipients were selected, one from each Texas Baptists university.

The recipients are Adolfo Chavez, a graduate of the Baptist University of the Americas and school counselor in Midland ISD; Jay Fischer, a graduate of Baylor University and middle school principal in Midway ISD; Phairen Yaites Brown, a graduate of Dallas Baptist University and school counselor in Crowley ISD; Adrien Kenebrew, a graduate of East Texas Baptist University and basketball coach in Hamshire-Fannet ISD; Molly Nipper, a graduate of Houston Baptist University and STEM teacher in Spring Branch ISD; Pat Hardy, a graduate of Howard Payne University and Texas State Board of Education representative for District 11; Nicole Flores, a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University and elementary school teacher in Abilene ISD; Lynda Solis, a graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and director of Bilingual and ESL Services in Waxahachie ISD; and Cash Fortune, a graduate of Wayland Baptist University and principal in Petersburg ISD.

The award process was coordinated by Cooperative Program Director Bruce McCoy and the Office of Cooperative Program Ministry. This annual award is presented to select Texas Baptists institution graduates who currently serve in faculty or administration roles in the Texas Public School System and are members of a church supportive of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT). One graduate is selected from each institution.

“We are so pleased to announce these splendid educators as this year’s recipients of the B.E.S.T. Award. Each of these top-tier educators are representative of thousands of our graduates who serve as “salt and light” in the public schools across Texas,” McCoy said. “They are standard bearers for quality education and personal integrity. They represent Jesus for us daily in and through their diligent and vital work.”

It is estimated that graduates from these universities represent 6-8% of the over 357,000 public school educators in Texas. Texas Baptists celebrates these graduates, who share Christ daily in their classrooms and schools through the love and support they show to their students. The B.E.S.T. Award was introduced in 2020 to honor these educators.

Award recipients will be honored during the 2022 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting, held on Nov. 13-15, 2022 in Waco, Texas.

You can learn more about the award at txb.org/best.