The town itself has a population of slightly more than 300 people.  Although they lost their high school several years ago, they’ve managed to hold on to their elementary school (which has an enrollment of about 150 students).  Gathered on the morning of the prayer breakfast were emergency and law enforcement personnel from the area, the Mayor and other officials, the community’s Senator and Representative in the Alabama legislature, and other men and women who care deeply about the quality of life in their town.  Before and after the breakfast I managed to meet most of the guests and chat with them, and I was gratified—as I always am—when encountering the Samford connections in the group.  “My daughter graduated there,” “I know Jennings Marshall on your faculty,” “my grandchildren are there now,” “you’ve got a great school,” “Samford has been a positive influence on Alabama.”  Samford’s “community” extends to the largest cities on the planet and to towns like West Jefferson, Alabama.

The world is better because of Samford’s “service to God, to family, to one another, and to the community.”