Nimmo
For nearly 40 years, Mary Nimmo has been the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s secret weapon.
Operating mostly behind the scenes — which is exactly where she prefers to be — Mary has quietly and effectively been the “glue” of the Baptist and Reflector. From handling advertising to organizing subscriptions to proof reading, Mary has worn many hats. And she’s worn all of them with excellence.
Although she would never say this, she has been our team captain in many ways. She has been our ambassador, our encourager, our catalyst … and above all else, our friend.
Next month, Mary will be leaving us for the greener (or at least more relaxing) pastures of retirement. She will take with her a legacy of service and graciousness.
She is the B&R’s gentle warrior. And the paper won’t be the same without her.
“Mary is a special person,” said B&R editor Chris Turner, who has worked with Mary at the TBMB since his arrival with the organization in 2014. “Not only has she been a great member of the B&R team for decades, she is genuinely a kind and godly person. There is no way to calculate the value of her contribution and it is hard to image the paper without her.”
STILL THE SAME
Through the years, Mary’s job title has changed several times, but her demeanor never has.
No matter what challenges and obstacles have laid before her, Mary has always met the situation head on and plowed right through it — and she’s done so with a smile on her face. Always.
She has touched countless lives, including those of her co-workers as well as those outside the organization, with her kindness and patience, her ceaseless prayers, and her selfless attitude.
“It was an honor and privilege to serve on the staff of the Baptist and Reflector with Mary for nearly 35 years,” said Lonnie Wilkey, the recently-retired B&R editor. “She was an incredible coworker but an even better friend and prayer warrior.”
Mary, who was born and raised in Louisville, Ky., attended Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., where she married Darrell Nimmo (the famous Sunday School lesson writer for the very publication that you are currently reading).
Mary and Darrell eventually moved to Nashville — when Darrell was employed by the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway Christian Resources) — which eventually led her to the TBMB.
Her first job with the Baptist and Reflector was serving as a typesetter. She’s long-since moved on from that role, but she has continued to be the newspaper’s tone-setter, with her smile and pleasantness having a contagious effect on our staff.
“I’m so thankful for all she’s done for us and for Tennessee Baptists,” Turner said, noting that Mary has helped a countless number of people get connected to the Baptist and Reflector through the years. “We will miss her so much, but I’m excited for her opportunity to retire. She’s certainly earned it.”
Mary Nimmo, center, has worked on the Baptist and Reflector staff for over 30 years. She stands with Lonnie Wilkey, left, retired editor of the B&R, and Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. File photo
GREAT MEMORIES
When I recently asked Mary what she would miss most about being at the TBMB, her answer was extremely fitting — and was a perfect snapshot into who she really is.
She said she would miss serving. Now how many of us would say that? I dare say not many.
“Through being called to TBMB I have been able to be a part of so many events occurring within the state that have blessed Tennessee Baptists,” she said, adding that serving as part of the Youth Evangelism Conference for many years will always be some of her favorite memories.
Wilkey wasn’t surprised by her response.
“Mary truly has a servant’s heart,” he said. “Just ask any of the ministry assistants across the Tennessee Baptist Convention with whom she dealt with on a regular basis. She viewed her role as a ministry, not a job.”
In her typically humble fashion, Mary said she is the one who has felt blessed by her coworkers.
“Being called to serve, particularly for the Baptist and Reflector, has changed me immensely,” she said. “I had not had the privilege to ever work with staff that ALL cooperatively serves so well together. (It was) always the mission to publish the most positive news one could ever subscribe to of a newsjournal.”
Mary herself was always a source of positivity — and I am going to miss that dearly. I can not even count the times that Mary has sent me an email just to say a kind word about a story that I wrote or to pay me a compliment regarding the design of a particular issue.
Even when the topic was her own retirement, she was quick to point the finger of praise in another direction.
“I thank God for the most blessed career with the most wonderful editors and staff an individual could have,” she said, adding that she has enjoyed working for a newspaper that “enters the homes of Tennessee Baptists throughout the state with not only the Gospel but mission activities and stories of how God had changed their lives.”
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
As with most any long-tenured employee, Mary has seen all kinds of changes. Few people, however, would have been able to glide through it the way she has.
She’s handled changes in leadership (including serving under three different state executives and three different B&R editors), changes in technology (including the ever-increasing use of computers) and no less than three changes in venue (with the TBMB home base moving from Nashville to Brentwood to Franklin).
“Oh yes, there have been many changes — but ALL good!” she said.
David Dawson
(See, I told you she was always positive!)
Mary laughed when she recalled that when she began at the TBMB in 1991, she was trained to work on a CompuGraphic computer which was designed mainly for publishing. (The company is now defunct).
Mary also reminisced about “printing out text on script-type paper so that when processed you would pull those strips and lay them down on whiteboard within the Tabloid-size dimensions of the B&R” during her early years with the paper.
Little by little, technology started evolving into what it is today.
Mary remembered that “Apple / Mac computers arrived in our office in 1992 and we started using the QuarkExpress program,” she said. “But still — production of the paper was more time-consuming, especially publishing weekly.”
Mary said it was a happy day in 2014 when the B&R switched to InDesign (another publishing program that the paper still uses to this day) while transitioning to a biweekly publication.
SORELY MISSED
Amid all these changes to the newspaper, there was one constant — the smiling face of Mary Nimmo. A friend to all who know her. The sweet voice on the other end of the telephone to those who called the TBMB. The constant encourager.
“Mary was not only an ambassador for the paper but for the entire Tennessee Baptist Mission Board,” said Wilkey.
We will miss you, Mary.
Our gentle warrior. Our team captain. Our glue. B&R
