Richard Morais, Gleaner Writer
FALMOUTH, Trelawny
A JAMAICAN, Reverend Eron Henry, has been appointed head of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Media Centre in the United States. He will take up the position in February of this year.
The Baptist World Alliance Media Centre is the core for the worldwide Baptist communication which include print and electronic media, as well as the World Wide Web.
The Baptists are the third largest church organisation, behind the Roman Catholics and the Anglicans, with an estimated 70 million worldwide membership. He will operate out of Washington in the U. S.
MEDIA LIAISON
As associate director, Reverend Henry will manage all facets of the communication programmes of the BWA.
These include the design and management of the communications plan of the BWA in consultation with the alliance's executive staff.
He will direct all print and on-line media, to include the BWA website e-newsletters, the Baptist World, the organisation's quarterly publication and BWA News, the monthly newsletter. He will also serve as the direct link to all media.
Rev. Henry will be part of the new BWA advancement team headed by Ron Harris, director for advancement, and consisting of Elizabeth Wright, associate director of development.
Henry has a master's degree in journalism from Temple University in the United States where he studied media management, non-fiction writing, news editing and news reporting. He received a special journalism award for academic achievement at Temple University.
He has both a bachelor of arts degree (honors) in theology from the University of the West Indies, and a diploma in ministerial studies from the United Theological College of the West Indies. His early schooling was at Breadnut Hill Primary, Ferncourt High and Calabar High schools.
EARLY CAREER
He became a minister in 1988 at the Rock River Baptist Church in Clarendon where he served for four years becoming ordained in 1990. He has served in Falmouth since 1992.
His career as a journalist includes serving on the local Baptist media commission from 1988, becoming chairman in 2001.
His responsibility included the denomination's quarterly newspaper, Jamaica Baptist Reporter, two weekly radio programme - Christ for Today and Youth Sounds - and editor of the website Caribbean Reporter.
He wrote a column for The Gleaner from 1987 to 1992, served as news analyst for RJR from 1992 to 1998, and was also a talk show host for Radio Waves in Montego Bay.
He is married to Dawnette and has two daughters, Joyvell and April.
