JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Baptist Foundation’s board of trustees elected new officers and a presidential search committee at its Dec. 9 meeting at the Baptist Building.
The election of new officers came just moments after the board learned of the passing of former Chairman Floyd Gilzow, Jr., of Jefferson City. Gilzow, 66, played an integral part in the transition of governance following a Sept. 20 Missouri Supreme Court ruling removing self-perpetuating trustees from power and restoring control of the Foundation board to MBC-elected trustees. Before resuming business, the board paused to pray for the Gilzow family.
“Our hearts are saddened for Floyd’s family,” said MBC Executive Director John Yeats. “He served faithfully in the context of Missouri Baptist life for decades. Since 2003 he served on the duly-elected Missouri Baptist Foundation board of trustees and only this fall was empowered by the court to take his seat as chairman. He did so with great expertise and humility.”
Larry Shoaf, a Cape Girardeau-area businessman and member of First Baptist Church, Jackson, was unanimously elected chairman. He had previously served as vice chairman. Jay Hughes, a staff member at Second Baptist Church, Springfield and former controller for the MBC, was unanimously elected first vice chairman. Rob Hawkins was elected second Vice Chairman. Joby Steele, pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Alton, was unanimously elected board secretary.
Later in executive session Shoaf, Hughes and Hawkins were elected to serve as the board’s presidential search committee. Yeats will serve ex-officio (non-voting member) and Robert Kellogg, president of the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma who is serving as a consultant to the board and staff on financial investment and administrative policies, will also serve as a consultant to the committee.
Steven Mathis, interim president, presented a financial report and answered questions in both morning and afternoon sessions. He reported assets under management of $116.9 million and that administrative costs were within budget. The Foundation has been without a permanent president since June 2015.
The board also approved meeting dates for 2017: April 27-28, Aug. 17-18 and Dec. 7-8.
A native of Springfield, Gilzow was a 1968 graduate of Baptist Bible College in Springfield and was an ordained minister. He attended Duke University in Durham, N.C., and Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar. Gilzow held a number of government and management positions. Since 2009, he was vice president of Government and Environmental Affairs, Missouri Public Utility Alliance, and chief operating officer for the Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities. He once served as chief of staff for then Congressman Roy Blunt and was an assistant to the president of Southwest Baptist University from 1993 until 1999 and as executive deputy Secretary of State for Missouri from 1984 until 1993.
Gilzow, a member of Concord Baptist Church, is survived by his wife of 47 years, Becky; three sons, Paul Gilzow of Columbia; Josh Gilzow of Ashland and Tim Gilzow of Jefferson City; his father, Homer F. Gilzow, Sr., of Springfield, a sister, Terri Seltzer of Wichita, Kan.; a brother, Ric Gilzow of Nashville, Tenn.; and six grandchildren.