A new century of hope and healing
It's always remarkable when any organization hits the century mark and is still going strong. Surviving for a hundred years generally means that an organization has had to be innovative and extremely resilient in overcoming challenges.
That was certainly the case for Connie Maxwell Children's Home as it entered its second century in 1992. Having survived two major economic depressions, a flu pandemic, two world wars, and major cultural shifts, the children's home saw its centennial celebration somewhat marred by a tragic traffic accident that ultimately led to the death of then-President Heyward Prince.
The organization rose to the challenge. After a transition period of leadership by Dr. Joseph R. Weber, who had served as development director under Prince, the Board of Trustees elected Dr. Jimmy McAdams, a veteran children's home administrator who kept the organization moving forward without really missing a beat. He led wisely and well until 2002 when he was once again called on to assist the Florida Baptist Children's Homes.
Ben Davis became the longest-serving president since Dr. Sam Smith retired in 1976. Davis, a businessman and former mayor of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, used his business expertise to guide the ministry in a strategic way to greatly increase its endowment which was a real organizational lifesaver when the Great Recession hit in 2008.
Embedded with this post is the rough cut of the narrated section of "The Connie Maxwell Story" that covers the McAdams and Davis years. There's now just one section to go before the entire documentary can begin to be combined with commentary from knowledgeable sources about the events being discussed.
Visit the Videos page of this site for more rough-cut sections of the documentary. As always, please let me know if you have questions, see errors, or want to provide additional material. Sharing these rough cuts along the way is a way to crowdsource this project and help the final product be accurate.
