Friday, May 10, 2013

2013 INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER: REVEREND WILBUR L. CONWAY


Wilbur has traveled throughout the United States and foreign countries preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He and his wife, Corinne, have been married for fifty-five years with six beautiful children and seven grandchildren.

Wilbur graduated from Higginsville High in Higginsville, Missouri in 1956. After which he joined the U.S. Navy. He stayed with the Navy for eleven years until he medically retired after losing an eye. Wilbur attended and graduated from San Diego City College with an Associate of Arts Degree in Political Science. From there he moved on to San Diego University and attended the university for three years. He had switched his focus and his major in political science was not the center of attention any more.

His new direction, inspired by his Christian faith, led him to CH Mason Bible College. It didn’t take him long to become an ordained minister and an author. He still does a lot of traveling and is often called upon to speak at conferences and seminars.

Reverend Wilbur Conway founded Jesus Evangelist Team In Service (JET-IS) in 1981 to minister and assist men in prison and during the transitional period of parole. He served as a Chaplain for the state of Missouri since 2004 and been involved in prison ministry for over 30 years.

As a gradute of Higginsville High School, class of 1956, he is one of other classmates who will be honored at the Lafayette County Juneteenth Celebration.  This particular class was the first one to graduate African Americans during the town's school integration period.  He is one of the "Spirit of Freedom honorees.

Reverend Conway is also credited with being one of three persons who were instrumental in the "founding" of the first Lafayette County, Missouri Juneteenth celebration in 2005.















Sunday, May 5, 2013

DON'T MISS THIS GREAT JAZZ SAXOPHONIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SPIRIT OF FREEDOM HONOREES

Lafayette County Juneteenth Opening Ceremony (follows drill team performances )
Fairground Park, Higginsville, MO   Saturday, June 15, 2013.11:30am.


 African Americans who graduated from the Classes of 1956 were the first people to attend schools that were integrated.


They had spent three years at another school, and their senior year was spent at their new high school. Most of them previously had attended the Douglas High School in Lexington, MO, the school that African Americans attended.
These graduates are truly "trailblazers" and this was indeed an historical moment in time.

Our theme for Juneteenth again is "Freedom For All." This year these graduates will be honored for being trailbrazers and demonstrating the "Spirit of Freedom. They represent the Higginsville, Lexington, Odessa, and Wellington High Schools. We are inthe process of contacting the graduates. Some are deceased and we will ask their families to stand in for them.

The opening ceremony will be following the performances of the drill teams.

CLASS OF 1956 -
 THE GRADUATES

HIGGINSVILLE HIGH - TRAVIS BENTON, JAMES CALBERT, REV. WILBUR CONWAY, MYRLON EDWARDS, EDWARD HAYNES, FRED SMITH
LEXINGTON HIGH - JAMES BOLTON, SOPHIA BOLTON HAYNES, JOHN L. SLAUGHTER, ROBERT LEE SMITH, NINA MILLER DICKSON

ODESSA HIGH - ZELMA WEST RICHARDSON
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