At today’s Chamber Board of Directors meeting, Pastor Ray Still received the Chair of the Board Award in the field of community development for his efforts in the 2019 Bond Advisory Committee and the bond development program. This award is designed to honor individuals who have made a significant contribution to the community in a specific field of endeavor, and no more than six recipients may be named in a calendar year.
Pastor Still chaired the 2019 Bond Advisory Committee of 23 members with eight meetings plus a bus tour from January through last month. That work paid off with the presentation of 21 project priorities from the original 155 to City Council. Pastor Still encouraged discussion, decisions, and thoroughness that will serve our citizens well for years to come. He also chaired the successful 2013 Bond Advisory Committee that provided many community improvements that we enjoy today.
The guidance, motivation, and support Pastor Still has provided during the bond program development process over the last 10 months is yet another example of how he graciously shares his time and talents for a vital volunteer service to the community. The resulting output was a culmination of the relationships he has fostered and the respect the committee has for his leadership.
A University of Houston alumni, Pastor Still has been the pastor of Oakwood Church for 25 years which has a membership more than 6,000 members. In 2003 he established the Oakwood Counseling Center that saw more than 3,000 sessions last year. He initiated the creation of the New Braunfels Christian Ministries Harvest Food Pantry to provide healthy groceries to families of school-age children. He leads the effort to establish New Braunfels Christian Ministries and their Volunteers in Medicine Clinic which provides quality medical and dental care at no cost to local uninsured residents of the New Braunfels and Comal County area.
Pastor Still presently serves as the Chairman of the Board of New Braunfels Christian Ministries, Trustee for CHRISTUS Health, Chairman of the Trustees for Howard Payne University, Chairman of the New Braunfels Ministerial Alliance, and serves as an Executive Board Member for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. In addition, he has served on the Board for Houston Baptist University, McKenna Memorial Hospital, and the McKenna Foundation.
For these reasons and many more, Pastor Still is the sixth and final recipient of the Chair of the Board Award for 2018. April Weilbacher was honored in the field of downtown development in February, Donna Eccleston received the award in the field of mental health in April, Ron Reaves was honored in the field of community planning and Dr. Melissa Miskell received the award in the field of women's health in July, and Stephen Hanz was honored in the field of tourism development in October. Pastor Still and his wife Sandra will be invited as special guests to the Centennial Chamber of Commerce Banquet on January 25, 2019 where he will be further honored.