BUIES CREEK — Longtime Campbell University supporters and married couple Frederick H. “Fred” Taylor and Myra Nicholson Taylor of Troy, N.C., are the recipients of the 2013 North Carolina Baptist Heritage Award from the North Carolina Baptist Foundation and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
A native of Vass, Fred is a 1964 graduate of Campbell University and the president of Troy Lumber Company. Myra is a graduate of Mount Gilead High School and received a Master Gardner certificate from North Carolina State University and a certificate in religious education through the First Baptist Church of Troy (FBC-Troy) via a program sponsored by Southern Seminary.
Both are also visionaries for Christian education who actively support the mission of Campbell and FBC-Troy, Campbell President Jerry Wallace said.
“I cannot think of any two people more deserving for recognition in the Baptist community than Fred and Myra Taylor,” Wallace said. “They have faithfully served the First Baptist Church of Troy, Montgomery County and Campbell University.”
One of the highest honors given by the Baptist State Convention, the Heritage Award recognizes individuals who have provided exemplary service to the convention or to organizations associated with the convention now or previously, including Campbell and FBC-Troy.
The Taylors are active members of FBC-Troy. There, Myra has served as director of Operation Christmas Child, teacher of the Vota Vita Sunday School class for 40 years, and a member of the Condolence, Library, and Sanctuary Choir and Music committees. She is also a past chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.
Fred’s activities at FBC-Troy include teaching a men’s Sunday school class, singing in the choir, and serving as a trustee, member of the Personnel Committee, and chair of the deacons. Also an accomplished musician, Fred is the featured pianist on numerous FBC-Troy recordings.
In the broader community, Myra has served in leadership roles with the Montgomery County Library, Montgomery Advisory Leadership Council, Sandhill Regional Library System, and the Troy Woman’s and Mothers Club. She is also a recipient of the North Carolina Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
Fred has served his community as a member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissions for four years, including two years as chair, and as a member of the Montgomery Memorial Hospital Board and First Bancorp Board. He has also served five terms on the Campbell University Board of Trustees, including two years as chair.
Fred and Myra are frequently on the Campbell campus. Their two children, Louisa and Frederick II, are Campbell graduates. Myra also has two other children: Robert Parnell (who is deceased) and Ellen Peterson.
Fred is the son of two former Campbell trustees: Mrs. Alliene Taylor and Dr. Fred L. Taylor, for whom the Fred L. Taylor Hall of Religion on the campus is named. Alliene Taylor received the N.C. Baptist Heritage award in 2002.
“The heritage of Fred and Myra begins with Fred’s parents who faithfully served Campbell and North Carolina Baptist life,” Wallace said. “That legacy continues with them and their children.”