The Baptist Foundation of South Carolina (BFSC) Board of Trustees has elected Barry B. Edwards as its seventh President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Edwards, who succeeds Weldon Fallaw, began his service on Monday, February 22.
“I believe President Barry Edwards has been groomed by God for “such a time as this” in our Foundation’s history. He brings a unique combination of experience, achievements, skills, and commitments that qualify him to lead our Foundation,” said Fred Payne, Chairman of the BFSC Board. “Barry has a strong Baptist heritage and deep Christian commitment. He has a wealth of professional experience in leading foundations and institutions to develop needed resources through strategic planning, marketing, and resource development.”
“As we celebrate our 60th year of service, in a time of economic challenges and rising needs,” Payne continued, “we believe Barry will guide the Baptist Foundation, our great staff and a committed Board, to achieve new levels of service. His servant heart, warm personality, communication skills, and inspirational messages will enable him to relate well to all of our many Mission Partners - churches, members, associations and institutions - of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.”
Edwards was instrumental in creating the Richland Memorial Hospital Foundation in Columbia and leading it for fourteen years. He served as Executive Vice President of the Independent Colleges and Universities of South Carolina and as President of the Newberry College Foundation. Most recently he was Senior Principal of Panas, Linzy and Partners, a strategic planning, marketing and fund-raising consulting firm where he was involved in helping hospitals, colleges, and other organizations, like Wycliffe Bible Translators, to raise millions of dollars.
Mr. Edwards comes to the Foundation with lifetime Baptist connections. As a young Royal Ambassador, he achieved the rank of Ambassador Plenipotentiary and was a state RA officer. He graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham, AL and married his Baptist college sweetheart, Alice. He worked for two Baptist institutions, Samford, his alma mater, as Director of Recruiting and East Tennessee Baptist Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee, as Director of Human Resources.
“Based on our extensive search and interview process,” past BFSC Chair and pastor of FBC Dillon, Dickie Cullum, noted, “I am pleased to share that Barry Edwards has a very solid background as a committed and informed Southern Baptist layman. His personal faith in Christ comes from strong Baptist roots, and he has been a dedicated leader in local Southern Baptist churches throughout his adult life. He articulated a very sound understanding of our structure as a convention of churches, our SCBC institutions, and the indispensable role of the Cooperative Program. I believe he will relate well to our SCBC leaders, institutional presidents, and local churches.”
Edwards resides in Chapin, South Carolina with his wife, Alice. They have two children and four grandsons. They are all members of Riverland Hills Baptist Church in Irmo.
The BFSC is an institution of the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC) that encourages financial and estate planning, provides financial and investment management services, and promotes stewardship of endowment and capital resources for Kingdom growth. Its ministry partners are the 2,100 churches, almost 700,000 members, 43 associations and 6 institutions of the SCBC.
