Baptist and Reflector
Mark LeMay, left, seen here with Ken Alexandrow, is retiring after 20 years with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. LeMay served as the facilities/risk management manager.
FRANKLIN — As the son of Tennessee Baptist pastor Hiram LeMay, Mark LeMay grew up watching his dad take care of the churches he served across the state.
LeMay later attended Belmont University and became a minister himself, serving in ministerial roles including Antioch First Baptist Church; Valley View Baptist Church, Nashville; Parkway Baptist Church, Goodlettsville; and First Baptist Church, Tullahoma.
For the past 20 years, LeMay has cared for the staff of those who serve Baptist churches across the state as the facilities/risk management manager for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
LeMay was recognized Dec. 10 on his 20th anniversary, about three weeks before his retirement.
Over his two decades with the TBMB, LeMay managed 50 million dollars in TBMB assets, logistics for two Church Support Center moves, multiple BCM facilities remodels, and construction volunteers for the Missions Mobilization Center project in Mount Juliet.
LeMay also managed the purchase, sale, maintenance, insurance, for the TBMB Fleet, which travels on average, 750,000 miles per year.
“In 20 years we did not lose a single vehicle due to the fault of our drivers,” he observed.
His most unique job was supervising the removal of the remains of Tidence Lane, considered to be the first Baptist pastor in Tennessee, to a nearby church cemetery. “It proved a dead Baptist could be raised,” he joked.
In the last few years, with increased church shootings and awareness of the need to protect children and others in the care of the church, LeMay became more visible, leading seminars in hundreds of churches across the state on “How to Keep My Church Safe and Secure.”
He noted the past 20 years “have been the most rewarding season for me as I have had the privilege and pleasure to ‘Make Christ Known by Serving Churches’ as a TBMB missionary. It seems impossible to express in words what this season of life has meant to me and my family (which includes Cindi, his wife of 47 years, three children and three grandchildren).”
Lemay added that he will cherish the relationships he has developed. “I am so appreciative of all my coworkers at the TBMB, and all the churches who have given me the joy of having the best job in the TBMB for the past 20 years. I truly consider myself to be a blessed man!
William Maxwell, administrative director of the TBMB, said he “ could always count on Mark to take care of things before I thought of things that needed care. He looked ahead and saw the opportunities and pitfalls. He engaged others in his work and always with a Christ-like spirit. His attention to detail will be greatly missed.”
“On countless occasions I have heard Mark say, ‘I love what I do’” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the TBMB. “And on countless occasions I attempted to put him to the test. He still loves his job. Mark has been an example of how each one of us can love what we do as well.”
LeMay will continue to serve on a part-time role in the harvest fields and lead risk management seminars.
