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E V E R Y T H I N G ' S
JUNE 30, 2015
Taylor High ACDEC 4th in Nation
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Meet FBC’s Pastor Kevin Ueckert
Last August, members of the Taylor Academic Decathlon team set a goal to win the 2015 state championship. They came close the past two years, so this year their mission was to bring home the state trophy. They set-up a rigorous study schedule, and began preparing themselves for their toughest competition. By the end of the school year the team from Taylor, Texas not only claimed the state championship trophy, they were ranked 4th in the National Medium School Competition. Their teacher, Vicki Rowe, was Texas Coach of the Year. When the final results were in, the local scholars earned a total of 94 individual medals, 3 team Gold Medals, and over $23,000 in scholarship money. “What an impressive accomplishment,” said Andrew Maddox, principal at Taylor High School. “These students worked extremely hard and pushed each other. Their work ethic, commitment and dedication is reflected in an extremely impressive national finish. They represented the school and community well.” “After the regional qualifiers, we found out we were going to state,” said team member Sarah Bohac. “Mrs. Rowe turned to me and said, ‘I think this will be the year.’ That stuck with me and inspired me to push myself even further so I could be part of that.” “The scholars commit to a plethora of hours of practice which start in May when we get the curriculum for the following competitive year, “Rowe said. “And it continues until we are finished competing as a team the following May.” The scholars agreed their rigorous study routine played a key role in their success, including meeting at Rowe’s house every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for three hour study sessions. “It See Taylor, page 15
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First Baptist Church of Georgetown welcomed a new Lead Pastor June 8. Kevin Euckert, formerly of Abilene, took over as Pastor after an exhaustive 16-month search by the church. Just two weeks in, Kevin says his wife told him, “I think Georgetown will be my favorite place to ever live.” Pastor Ueckert was at Texas Southside Baptist Church for the past 15 years. He said it had really become home, he had deep roots there and actually had no cause or desire to leave. But a series of emails and apparent coincidences led him to Georgetown and, like all people of faith, he is certain the choice was divinely inspired. Universally, the Baptist Church does not have a hierarchy that transfers pastors or leaders. Change is effected by the churches and pastors themselves. Ueckert says, “I experienced a lot of positive things and many changes in my church in Abilene.
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We were as strong as we’d ever been, but I started to feel like the Lord was communicating with me to think about what else might be out there.” One of Ueckert’s passions is missions. During a recent trip to East Asia, he began to feel like it might be time to follow a different plan. “My wife and I had grown comfortable, but we prayed about it for a few weeks. We didn’t get any answers so we thought that was the end of it.” But, he said, the coincidences had already taken hold and tugging persisted until he received an e-mail from the First Baptist search committee. One committee member contacted the brother of her college roommate to see if he had any recommendations from the seminary where he worked. That brother happened to be in a Facebook photo with Ueckert on his East Asia mission trip, and, when brother said he only had one
viable, perfect candidate, it turns out Ueckert was her pastor when she was in college. Ueckert says he still wasn’t convinced, but he wanted to work with FBC to make sure he could eliminate it as a possibility and not let it distract him from his work in Abilene. He and his wife went again to prayer and decided to send a resume. “We had been happy for 15 years and had no reason to leave, so I wanted to vet it completely and make sure it wasn’t just a test to see if I was willing to leave.” As it happened, Ueckert says God continued to confirm that Georgetown was where He wanted him to be. He visited in March and preached to the church. Following a Q&A, the church voted overwhelmingly (98.6%) to offer him the position. The Ueckert family arrived in town June 7, and he was at work See Pastor, page 9
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