Fun in Fort Worth

 

Tarleton State University Barry B. Thompson Service Award

 Dear Committee Members,

Please accept this letter as my formal nomination of Dr. Jarrod Schenewark for the Barry B. Thompson Service Award. Jarrod has been at Tarleton State since 2014 and is a dedicated member of Team Kinesiology and a valued member of the University community.

Dr. Jarrod Schenewark is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sport Science within the School of Kinesiology. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?' What I have noticed about Dr. Schenewark is that he possesses the characteristics of a servant leader. He quietly goes about his day focused on the little matters that will help our students, department and university achieve their true potential. He is determined to set daily goals that stretch him as a professional. He has an uncanny ability to hit his marks all while remaining open and engaged as a colleague. Jarrod does not provide simple lip-service to King's quote, he shows up each day with an attitude of service to others.

SERVICE TO THE STUDENTS - Dr. Schenewark has been at Tarleton for seven years and considers teaching to be the most important aspect of his role as a faculty member. He is a supervisor for student research projects and serves as an academic advisor for countless students. Schenewark possesses a quiet strength and reflective nature that inspires his students to 'raise the bar' both in the classroom and in their professional lives. Focused on engaging our students in the historical aspects of sport and physical education, Schenewark uses thoughtful discussion prompts as a means for drawing students into a dynamic conversation. his dedicated service to students provides them with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to one day become future leasers within the Kinesiology and Sport profession.

SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY - Jarrod has lived a life dedicated to the service of others; in short, service is the essence of his existence. Schenewark has worked in numerous capacities including serving on the SACSCOC Steering Committee, Speaker Symposium Committee, and CoE liaison for assessment (a thankless, time-consuming task). Most recently, he served as the Faculty Senate President with Dr. James Hurley during his first year as the University President. Schenewark was able to provide steady guidance to the incoming President as he navigated a move to the NCAA Division I athletics and contended with a global pandemic. During the COVID crisis, Schenewark and the Faculty Senate team offered calm reassurance behind the scenes as the faculty transitioned to a fully on line environment. The University community remained flexible during the crisis thanks in part to Schenewark's effective leadership.  

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY - Schenewark enjoys giving back to the community. In 2018, he was instrumental in securing Rudy Ruettiger, Notre Dame football player, to serve as the keynote speaker for the Sadler Distinguished Scholar Series. In 2020, he secured a traveling historical exhibit to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Negro Baseball League. Jarrod's vision to provide historical context to the current generation is for the betterment of the overall community.

I first met Dr. Barry B, Thompson in 1986 and I believe he would have appreciated Jarrod's commitment to excellence as a servant leader. Schenewark has answered Dr. King's pressing question - he simply does for others. I enthusiastically support and recommend Dr. Jarrod Schenewark for the Barry B. Thompson Service Award.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kayla Peak
Associate Dean / Professor - School of Kinesiology

Mother's Day Mount Magic

Husband Hugs

Dear Homeowners:

Your community is filled with amazing people. One has been recognized as a hero at this time. Please join us in giving your heartfelt gratitude to this hero in our community.

Community Hero: Amy Jo Schenewark
Nominated by: Jarrod Schenewark

Why this person is a hero: Amy Jo works for the County Sheriff Department as a dispatcher and 911 operator. She has not missed a day of work and has spent many days of overtime. She has had to coordinate emergency response for the sheriff and the fire departments in this county. She also continues to serve on a search and rescue team with her German Shepard.

Bad Bass Boy

The Vocal Bishop

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I hope all is going well for you. I wanted to share a few ideas.

1)    If you need help, I encourage you to reach out to your ministering brother or sister. If you are unsure who they are you may check your name on LDS tools and scroll to the bottom of the page where you should see the names of those who minister to you and the names of to whom you minister. I encourage you to reach out to them with a phone call, text, email, etc. I was called last week by my ministering brother, and I am so appreciative to be remembered. In many ways it made my day.

 2)    I have heard some concerns about members wanting to pay their tithing. I am grateful for your diligence in being faithful. As of right now, we as a Bishopric are not planning to come around to homes to collect tithes and offerings or to meet at the church for the collection of tithes and offerings. We are respecting the guidelines established by the Church and the government.

I encourage you to make use of the online payment of tithes. Directions can be found on the Church website at the following address:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/help/support/finance/online-donations?lang=eng

If you do not feel comfortable with the online submission of tithing and offerings that is fine, you can hold onto your tithing until we once again meet. I remember President Monson recounted a story of a faithful brother, who lived behind the Iron Curtain, and who saved his tithing for years until he was able to meet with a representative of the church (talk can be found at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/04/obedience-brings-blessings?lang=eng ). As with this faithful brother you will retain all the blessings that come from paying tithing, if you choose to set your tithing aside until we meet.

3)    I also pondered this week upon the story of Elijah. If you remembered, the wicked wife of King Ahab wanted Elijah killed and so Elijah fled to the wilderness where he was sustained for a period of time. Then a famine came upon the land and Elijah found a woman and her son, and he told her to make some bread for him first and she would be blessed. She listened to the prophet and she was blessed (in many ways).

 When I was a young boy and learned this story, I always felt that the woman and son were isolated. I always felt that the people at this time were isolated from each other, they were living a life of social distancing. (I still see this as the picture for this story). But she was prepared to receive the Prophet. As we continue to practice “social distancing,” I encourage you to be prepared to receive the word and will of our Heavenly Father which will come through his servants this weekend.

As we are apart and we prepare for General Conference I also encourage you to watch this talk from A. Theodore Tuttle in the October 1979 General Conference. I believe it is very relevant to our time ( https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1979/10/therefore-i-was-taught ).

* a little historical point - Elder Tuttle served in the Marines during WW II. He was given the responsibility to secure a larger flag to raise on Mt. Surabachi on Iwo Jima, which is the flag seen in the famous picture.

Therefore I Was Taught

May you be blessed,

Bishop Schenewark 

Genealogy Conference

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

A few days have passed since the first Granbury Family History Conference. Ever since I was called as a Bishop, four years ago, I have desired to have a conference which would engage/unite members and the community. You made it happen. You have done a wonderful job and the conference was a success. I am very grateful (and humbled) by your efforts.

Because of your work many non-members, for the first time, stepped inside a building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If not for the conference, many would never had made the effort to visit us. This is important because they can feel the spirit in our dedicated buildings, walk the halls, see the pictures of the Savior that adorn the walls, and have the opportunity to interact with you. A barrier is broken down, and I believe we will see some of these same individuals walking into the church building in the future. (I saw that one Book of Mormon was taken from the table display.)

I thank you for spending time to clean the building so well, both before and after the conference. For time in planning, marketing, organizing, executing, and praying for this work. Thank you for supplies, projectors, and cookies.

I did have the opportunity to talk with members within and outside the stake. I had the pleasure of meeting with members who had not been to church for a long time (one for twenty-years), but came to the conference. I got the feeling from one sister that she did not really feel she was a full member because she had not attended church for so many years. I called her Sister, which she appreciated, I think she realized she is a loved daughter of our Heavenly Father and she has a place she belongs.

I know people made new friends (both members and non-members). I met new people in the community that I can say "hello" to at a basketball game, or a store, or another community event. If I see them and don't know what to say, I know we can talk about Family History. I also gained an appreciation for the value of having our own Family History Center, in the building, opened and utilized on a regular basis.

It was wonderful to see attendees eating lunch together and having great conversations. It seemed to me that people were engaged with each other and that is great. While the round tables were not envisioned for the lunch tables, I think they enabled better communication.

The door prizes were fantastic, the visiting presenters were wonderful. I enjoyed visiting with presenters and the people who set up displays. On a personal note, I most enjoyed the National Museum of the Pacific and will be in contact with them again.

I know that family history work will help our members grow closer as families (and as a ward), to connect with the community, to have meaningful missionary opportunities, to withstand the trails of life, and to strengthen their testimony of the Gospel, the Savior, and our Heavenly Father.

Your work on the conference strengthened my testimony and I thank you. I pray that you feel the love the Savior and Heavenly Father haves for each of you, and that you know you are involved in a great and marvelous work. I look forward to the next Family History Conference and the presentation from the General Authorities (on Thursday) this work.

Love,

Bishop Schenewark



HI Bishop  -

Thank you so much for being part of our conference.  I appreciate your efforts and support.  I heard from many of the attendees that they enjoyed your presentation and it was exactly what they were looking for.  You did a great job !!

We had a great turn-out as you probably saw.  I think the total attendance was about 110 as we had a bunch of no-shows but we also had 24 people who just showed up on Saturday morning


Life Section 1B of HOOD COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Where do you start? Conference tips could help you delve into family history BY DEBBIE SCHNEIDER
If you have an interest in researching your ancestry, the Granbury Family History Conference is the place to be. The conference on Saturday brings a variety of speakers and 12 sessions to help you learn more about family history research. The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sponsoring the workshop at 1226 Ross Lane

Local Hero Jack Wilson

Dear Pastors and Ministers:

The speaker at this month’s Conservative Club meeting is Mr. Jack Wilson. In case you don’t know him, he is the gentlemen from Granbury who was involved in the recent shooting incident at the Church of Christ in White Settlement. Among other things, he will be speaking on the subject of security at churches.

You are welcome to attend along with security people and others in your organization who are interested. If you are not a member of the Conservatives, don’t worry about bringing a covered dish.

Blessings,

Hood County Conservatives


WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (AP) — Alarms went off in Jack Wilson’s head the moment a man wearing a fake beard, a wig, a hat and a long coat walked into a Texas church for Sunday services.

By the time the man approached a communion server and pulled out a shotgun, Wilson and another security volunteer were already reaching for their own guns.

The attacker shot the other volunteer, Richard White, and then the server, Anton “Tony” Wallace, sending congregants scrambling for cover. The gunman was heading toward the front of the sanctuary as Wilson searched for a clear line of fire.

“I didn’t have a clear window,” he said, referring to church members who “were jumping, going chaotic.” Wilson, a 71-year-old firearms instructor who has also been a reserve sheriff’s deputy, said: “They were standing up. I had to wait about half a second, or a second, to get my shot. I fired one round. The subject went down.”

Wilson’s single shot quickly ended the attack that killed Wallace, 64, and White, 67, at the West Freeway Church of Christ in the Fort Worth-area town of White Settlement. He said the entire confrontation was over in no more than six seconds. More than 240 congregants were in the church at the time.

“The only clear shot I had was his head because I still had people in the pews that were not all the way down as low as they could. That was my one shot,” Wilson said Monday from his home in nearby Granbury.

As Wilson approached the fallen attacker, he noticed five or six other members of the volunteer security team he had trained with their guns drawn. Wilson said they had their eyes on the man since he arrived. During the service, White and Wilson had stationed themselves at the back of the church, watching him.

The Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday identified the attacker as Keith Thomas Kinnunen, 43. His motive is under investigation.

Speaking outside the church Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said authorities “can’t prevent mental illness from occurring, and we can’t prevent every crazy person from pulling a gun. But we can be prepared like this church was.”

Britt Farmer, senior minister of the church, said Sunday, “We lost two great men today, but it could have been a lot worse.”

Wilson described the attacker’s gun as a short-barreled 12-gauge shotgun with a pistol grip. Shotguns with barrels less than 18 inches long are restricted under federal law and can be legally owned in Texas only if they are registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

After the shooting, Texas officials hailed the state’s gun laws, including a measure enacted this year that affirmed the right of licensed handgun holders to carry a weapon in places of worship, unless the facility bans them.

That law was passed in the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history, which was also at a church. In the 2017 massacre at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, a man who opened fire on a Sunday morning congregation killed more than two dozen people. He later killed himself.

President Donald Trump also tweeted his appreciation for state’s gun legislation Monday night, saying, “Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry arms!”

Isabel Arreola told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she sat near the gunman in White Settlement and that she had never seen him before. She said he was wearing what appeared to be a disguise and made her uncomfortable.

“I was so surprised because I did not know that so many in the church were armed,” she said.

Sunday’s shooting was the second attack on a religious gathering in the U.S. in less than 24 hours. On Saturday night, a man stabbed five people as they celebrated Hanukkah in an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City.

Wallace’s daughter, Tiffany Wallace, told Dallas TV station KXAS that her father was a deacon at the church.

“I ran toward my dad, and the last thing I remember is him asking for oxygen. And I was just holding him, telling him I loved him and that he was going to make it,” Wallace said.

“You just wonder why? How can someone so evil, the devil, step into the church and do this,” she said.

White’s daughter-in-law, Misty York White, called him a hero on Facebook: “You stood up against evil and sacrificed your life. Many lives were saved because of your actions. You have always been a hero to us but the whole world is seeing you as a hero now. We love you, we miss you, we are heartbroken.”

Matthew DeSarno, the agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas office, said the assailant was “relatively transient” but had roots in the area.

Paxton said Monday that the shooter appeared to be “more of a loner.” “I don’t think he had a lot of connections to very many people,” he said.

Investigators searched Kinnunen’s home in nearby River Oaks, a small city where police said his department’s only contact with the gunman was a couple of traffic citations. But Kinnunen appeared to have more serious brushes in other jurisdictions. He was arrested in 2009 on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Fort Worth and in 2013 for theft, according to Tarrant County court records.

He was arrested in 2016 in New Jersey after police found him with 12-gauge shotgun and rounds wrapped in plastic in the area of an oil refinery, according to the Herald News Tribune in East Brunswick. It was not immediately clear how those charges were resolved.

Kinnunen’s extensive criminal record also included assault charges in Oklahoma and Arizona.

Kinnunen's ex-wife described her husband as a “violent, paranoid person with a long line of assault and batteries with and without firearms. He is a religious fanatic, says he’s battling a demon.”

Church officials held a closed meeting and prayer vigil just for church members Monday evening. Farmer told the crowd that he had encountered Kinnunen in the past.

“I had seen him. I had visited with him. I had given him food,” Farmer said.

White Settlement’s website says it was named by local Native Americans in the 1800s for white families then settling in the area. City leaders who worried that the name detracted from the city’s image proposed renaming it in 2005, but voters overwhelmingly rejected the idea.

Wilson said the church started the security team about 18 months ago after moving to a new building and becoming concerned about crime in the area. Wilson has been a firearms instructor since 1995, spent six years in the Army National Guard and was a Hood County reserve deputy. He said some of the security team members he trained were at first afraid to touch a gun.

“I don’t feel like I killed a human, I killed an evil,” Wilson said. “That’s how I’m coping with the situation.”
___

Associated Press writers Paul J. Weber in Austin, Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas, and news researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

Turkey Trot

Reflections

Delightful afternoon walk collecting pinecones

Wagner having a moment

at the new law enforcement memorial in Granbury

Granbury ISD and Tarleton State University Educational Scholarship Collaboration

Tarleton State University

Graduate Program in Sport Administration

Provo, UT Temple

 

Happy 28TH Anniversary!

"If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me, ye women, if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,

Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.

Thy love is such I can no way repay;

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,

That when we live no more, we may live ever."

-Anne Bradstreet

Daddy Daughter Date

Bad Bass Boys

Road Trip!

 Breyer enjoying Provo and family while in town for Hunter's graduation

A New Fishing Buddy

Tarleton State University

Last week, several members of #TeamKINE had the honor of attending the signing ceremony for The Daniel Jones ‘Never Give Up’ Memorial Endowed Scholarship. Daniel was a #Kinesiology major who loved the game of baseball and truly loved Tarleton! His “never give up” attitude has and will continue to serve as an inspiration to current and future Kinesiology majors.⚾️

Texas Coach

Three page spread by Dr. J