The Baylor University Alumni Association presented the W. R. White Meritorious Service Award to six individuals during the association’s annual membership meeting at Baylor Homecoming. The award, named for Baylor University’s ninth president, has been given annually since 1977 by the association to recognize individuals who—like Dr. White—have rendered outstanding service to the university. This year’s honorees included Dave Campbell of Waco, D. M. Edwards of Tyler, Lanella Spinks Gray of Brenham, Ruben and Barbara Ann McLeod Santos of Waco, Dr. Raymond Vickrey of Richardson, and John Wilkerson of Lubbock. (Recipients pictured left to right are: Wilkerson, Vickrey, Santos, Spinks, Campbell, and Edwards.)

Dave Campbell, a 1950 journalism graduate, is the founder of Texas Football magazine. Three years after his graduation, he became the sports editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald, a position he held for forty years. In 1960 he founded Texas Football magazine, now the most widely read sports publication in Texas. Campbell’s success continued in 1993 when he began his fifteen-year tenure as editor-in-chief of the Baylor Bear Insider, a publication of the Baylor Bear Foundation.

He has received honors from the Football Writers Association of America and the College Sports Information Directors, and he was named a Baylor Distinguished Alumnus in 1992. Currently, he assists in selecting members for the Heisman Trophy, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and the High School Football Hall of Fame.

D. M. Edwards, a 1976 Baylor business graduate, is the founder of Edwards Investments in Tyler. He is the founding president of the East Texas Baylor Club and currently serves as the chair of the group’s scholarship committee, helping more than a hundred East Texas residents earn Baylor degrees. Edwards served as chair of the Board of Advisors of Baylor University Libraries and was involved in the formation of Baylor’s Old Main Society, which honors those who give to Baylor through estate planning.

Edwards has been president of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra and the Rotary Club of Tyler and was chair of the Board of Trustees of East Texas Baptist University.

Lanella Spinks Gray has served as an unofficial ambassador at Baylor’s original campus in Independence, since 1992. She earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and education from Baylor in 1954.

Baylor started bringing incoming freshmen to Independence a few years ago as part of the Line Camps program, and Gray has helped welcome hundreds of students and educated them on the history of Baylor University. She serves on the Board of Library Advisors, in addition to being a life member of the Baylor Alumni Association and a member of the Baylor Bear Foundation.

Ruben and Barbara Ann McLeod Santos—members of the Classes of 1959 and 1961, respectively—served the Baylor community for more than three decades. Every year, they gave up their Thanksgiving holiday to decorate the two-story Christmas tree in the Bill Daniel Student Center. After Ruben’s death in March 2008, Barbara Ann continued to be active in Baylor activities, including the Baylor Round Table. Barbara Ann was a registered nurse for many years and held teaching and administrative positions. She was also chair of the Waco Health Board and served on the Texas Ranger Museum board.

Ruben Santos began his Baylor career in 1967 at the Student Union Building, where he was director for thirty-five years. He served on the Waco City Council from 1983 to 1990 and was mayor in 1985. He was the executive director of the Heart of Texas Regional History Fair. The family established an endowed scholarship at Baylor in Ruben’s memory.

Dr. Raymond Vickrey served as executive director of the Baylor Alumni Association from 1971 to 1978 and helped usher in numerous important changes, including the organization’s establishment as a self-governing, nonprofit association and the implementation of a paid membership structure.

The 1957 Baylor graduate has been involved in Baptist circles for many years, serving on the executive board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and as director of Baptist Studies at Brite Divinity School. Vickrey earned a master’s of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the doctor of ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation of Notre Dame University, which named him a distinguished alumnus. Vickrey is pastor emeritus of Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, where he was pastor for twenty-six years, retiring in June 2008.

John Wilkerson, a 1957 Baylor business graduate, is the chair of the board of Wilkerson Storage Co. Wilkerson has held many offices for Baylor University over the years. He was a member of the Board of Regents for eighteen years, serving as chair for two years, and is a past president of the Hankamer School of Business Alumni Board of Directors and a past director of the Baylor Alumni Association.