 I'm very grateful to God and grateful for my faith, grateful for growing up in a Methodist Parsonage in Mississippi and different places and just the family that I was reared in and that has brought me to this place. I'm most grateful for my experience in serving the church in the North Texas Conference and my first ministry, great ministry that I was a part of, was in the Wichita Falls District and as I was crossing campus one day during my course of study school and I met Dr. Zane Holmes and he asked me where was I ministering at and I told him in Wichita Falls and he said well that's diminished, that's the wilderness and it's always good to be able to start in the wilderness because that's where God carries his people through the wilderness and I feel like God was moving me in that direction as well. I'm most grateful for God's call upon my life, began exploring a call when I was in high school and my mother, ever the practical one and the elementary school teacher always said you know you better get your teaching degree because people may lose the religion but they'll always have kids and so I followed her advice but I did follow my call and went into ministry. I'm most grateful for the amazing church members, the members of the churches where I have served through all these years. They've taught, supported, followed and led me in this amazing journey of 48 years. I have worked with some wonderful colleagues in the churches where I have served particularly at First United Methodist Church in Richardson and I am most grateful I guess for the opportunities to follow my passion in missions and outreach. Being alongside laity and ministries in the local area as well as places around the world that have experiences that have enriched my life and strengthened my faith. There are so many things but I've kind of boiled it down to a few. Follow your passion, be faithful to your calling, be flexible and that's a hard one to learn sometimes. Learn to listen and be a good follower and always be a compassionate servant leader. After ordination that I would suggest that they would continue their studies until they have found that God is still weaving the assurance of them, giving them the greatest chance of their life to continue in their ministry. This good self-care, take care of yourself and know that it's hard to care for others if you aren't taking care of yourself and I had a friend in a church before I became a pastor who when I was frantic about leaving and the things that I've been involved in the church, she said, sweetie, when you think you're indispensable, put your hand in a bucket of water, take it out and see how long the whole lasts and so I've kind of taken that to heart for my life when I think I'm getting too involved to back up a little bit and give space for others to fill in that hole. I would also say preach and teach the Wesleyan way of salvation. Use the language of our denomination and that unique understanding of grace that we have and then finally do no harm, do all the good you can and tend to the ordinances of God. You'll do well. My plan for retirement is something that I learned as a part of in the Wichita Falls District as I was a part of the Kairos Prison Ministry and so this is something that I will continue, hopefully continue to do. I have also liked making a difference in the people lives who are incarcerated, who have been incarcerated. It's sabbatical for about three or four months. Looking forward to visiting churches for a while and just being a participant in worship and then I'll look forward to settling in in Forney at First Genine Methodist Church. I'm retiring from the conference but I plan to work full-time, continue to work full-time at First Genine Methodist Church in the ministry in which I am now serving with the blessing of our senior minister Clayton Alford as minister of missions and outreach. So my ministry will continue but just my relationship of the conference will change and so for the time being it will be life as usual.