[1]ORLANDO, Fla. (BP)–Janet Hoffman of Farmerville, La., and Yolanda Calderon of Modesto, Calif., were elected June 12 to serve as the national officers of Woman’s Missionary Union.
Hoffman, national recording secretary since 1996, was elected to succeed Wanda S. Lee, who became WMU executive director/treasurer March 1. Calderon, California WMU president from 1994-98, replaced Hoffman as recording secretary.
Calderon is the first ethnic leader to be elected as a national WMU officer. Both officers will be eligible for annual re-election for up to five years.
The new officers were elected during the Monday morning session of the WMU annual meeting at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. They were recommended to WMU members attending the June 12 national gathering by a nominating committee of state WMU presidents from each of Southern Baptists’ state or regional conventions.
A pastor’s wife for more than 40 years, Hoffman, 64, and her husband, Harvey, are members of First Baptist Church, Farmerville. Harvey retired from the pastorate in 1996.
The couple has three adult children, all holding ministerial positions, and four grandchildren. Their oldest child, Shelda, is children’s consultant for WMU of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Their son, Bill, serves as minister of missions/senior adults at First Baptist Church, Shreveport, and Jeff is pastor of First Baptist Church, Arcadia, La.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., Hoffman spent most of her formative years in Oklahoma and in Houston. After graduating from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, the Hoffmans married and moved to Fort Worth, where he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1993 with a master of arts in Christian education degree.
The couple served churches in Texas 1960-73 and 1983-87. The remainder of their ministry years has been in Louisiana Baptist churches, except for five years, 1978-83, when Harvey served on the Louisiana Baptist Convention staff as director of black church relations.
[2]Hoffman’s WMU involvement began as a Sunbeam (former preschool WMU ministry) at First Baptist Church, Tulsa, Okla. Throughout her ministry with her husband, Hoffman has held WMU leadership positions in the church, association and state organization. She served on the Louisiana convention’s executive council from 1980-83 and the Texas WMU executive board, 1984-87.
In 1991, she was elected president of Louisiana WMU, which automatically made her a vice president of the national organization and a member of its executive board. While on the executive board, she was a 1992-94 member and 1993-94 chair of the finance committee.
Calderon, 58, a native of Texas, earned an associate degree from the College of Marin, Kentfield, Calif., in 1972; a bachelor of arts degree in religion from California Baptist University, Riverside, in 1993; and a master of arts in Christian education from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Mill Valley, Calif., in 1998. She currently serves as a trustee of California Baptist University, and is a member of First Baptist Church, Ripon.
Calderon’s husband, Art, is a retired prison warden of 32 years with the California prison system.
The Calderons have three adult children and four grandchildren. Their son, Art, is associate pastor of Lane Prairie Baptist Church in Joshua, Texas. The other two children, Racquel Jensen and Liza Calderon, live in California.
Calderon’s WMU involvement began with Girls in Action at First Baptist Church, Menard, Texas. As an adult, she has held numerous leadership positions at the church, associational and state level. She was president of the California WMU from 1994-98. While on the national WMU executive board, she was chair of the Project HELP: Cultural Diversity task force.
In 1994, she was named a founding member of the National WMU Language Advisory Council, a group which helps national WMU develop materials for 13 language groups. Members also consult with churches and lead conferences for their respective language group. Calderon served on the council until 1998.
Publicity photos available from WMU, SBC, (205) 991-4013.
–30–
*Name changed for security concerns.