SUBMITTED REPORT

First Baptist Church and San Marcos Academy will join together to honor Dr. Jack Byrom for his many years of service during a community-wide reception Jan. 29 as he prepares to move from San Marcos to Dallas.

The reception will take place from 2-4 p.m. at First Baptist Church, located at 325 E. McCarty Lane. Jan. 29 will also be proclaimed as Jack E. Byrom Day in San Marcos by Mayor Daniel Guerrero.

“Through the years, Byrom has made significant contributions to Texas Baptists, to state educational organizations and to the local community,” said Shelley Henry, San Marcos Academy communications director.

Byrom, along with his wife, Bobbie, and their three children, first moved to San Marcos in 1961, when he became pastor at First Baptist Church, then located on Hutchison Street. He had previously been pastor at churches in Corpus Christi and Carrizo Springs. He also served in a handful of other small churches while a student at Baylor University and at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Byrom became the tenth president of San Marcos Academy in 1965, replacing Dr. William Crook in that position. Byrom would serve as the academy’s president for 31 years, the longest tenure of any president in the school’s history.

“Among the many accomplishments of his presidency, Byrom negotiated the sale of the academy’s original campus to Texas State University and directed the school’s move to its present campus on Ranch Road 12,” Shelley said.

Upon his retirement in 1996, Byrom was honored during the commencement ceremony with congratulatory letters from the President of the United States, the Governor of Texas, and the Mayor of the City of San Marcos, who proclaimed May 13, 1996, as Jack E. Byrom Day. He also was presented with the Exemplary Service Medal, the highest award San Marcos Academy bestows upon an individual, recognizing him for “distinguished service to God and man through Christian education.”

Byrom continued his service to the academy as Chancellor, as past president and current trustee of the San Marcos Academy Foundation, and as the President Emeritus of the academy. He has also continued to be an active member at First Baptist Church, where he holds the title of Pastor Emeritus.

Byrom served as a member of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, moderated four Texas Baptist Associations, and was a director of the Christian Education Coordinating Board. Additionally, he was Commissioner of the Accrediting Commission of the Texas Association of Baptist Schools; Director of San Antonio Educational Television, Inc.; and President of the Texas Baptist School Administrators Association. Locally, Byrom served as president and director of the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce; president of the Heritage Association of San Marcos; and chairman of the San Marcos Bicentennial Commission.

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