MBU Welcomes Business Leaders at Annual Community Business Breakfast
Maranatha held the Annual Community Business Breakfast on August 20, 2019, welcoming approximately fifty (50) local business leaders to campus. The breakfast gives MBU an opportunity to thank the local businesses for their support, and a chance to update them about the activities of the new school year. Steve Board, Maranatha’s Director of Development, opened the breakfast by sharing a video that presented the Communication Arts program. Mr. Board also shared the institution’s economic impact for the Watertown Community, and he high
lighted MBU’s support of the Community through Kiddie Kampus and the Music Prep School. MBU is one of Watertown’s largest employers and brings numerous visitors to the city from all over the country and the world every year. Board highlighted the upcoming business breakfasts for the 2019-2020 year, and he also announced an upcoming Job Fair on September 4th.
Mr. Board then introduced Athletic Director Rob Thompson and Fine Arts Chair Dr. David Ledgerwood to speak about the athletic and fine arts departments respectively.
Rob Thompson shared MBU’s history of success in multiple athletic conferences and divisions including sixty-four (64) Regional Championships and twenty (20) National Championships across ten (10) intercollegiate sports teams.
Athletes and coaches have also received individual recognition for sportsmanship, leadership and excellence all while maintaining an academic focus. Thompson says, “We tell our athletes they are here to get an education first. Being able to play sports is just the icing on the cake.” He closed his remarks with details about the upcoming fall sports seasons and other events including the high school and collegiate tournaments and community service projects that teams will participate in.
Dr. David Ledgerwood presented the many and varied Fine Arts performances and activities available to the Community. “Operation Auca” is the story of five (5) young missionaries who gave their lives attempting to reach a native tribe in the Amazon. The Curious Savage is an enjoyable comedy, and the family classic Beauty and the Beast will be performed during the school year. Dr. Ledgerwood also emphasized the concerts and recitals available in addition to the Music Prep School.
To close the morning, Dr. Marty Marriott, the President at MBU, gave a testimony of personal changes in his life and how that has affected his approach to leading the University. On June 24, 2019, Dr. Marriott was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in his right eye. He recounted that the day filled with tests and appointments with various doctors was also his birthday. Though the news he received that day was unfavorable, Marriott says, “It was a happy birthday, because I was so thankful that I live in America where I could get great medical treatment quickly when I needed it the most.”
He went on to explain that the life-threatening condition caused him to evaluate not only his life but his place at Maranatha. “I asked myself, why are you here, and why did you come here?” He found the answer in his commitment to serving Christ, a commitment that started with his Salvation in college, and continues in his position at MBU. “This school has a purpose,” he said. “It’s about serving Jesus.”
Watch the business breakfast recording here. Learn more about upcoming business breakfasts here.