Press Releases

Ron Smith Elected Board Chair for AdventHealth

Smith has served on AdventHealth’s Board of Directors for 12 years.

October 10, 2019 | Maitland, Fla. | Ingrid Hérnandez

AdventHealth’s Board of Directors has elected Ron C. Smith to serve as chair during its most recent quarterly Board meeting. Smith assumes responsibilities immediately, replacing Gary Thurber after he served a two-year term as board chair.

“AdventHealth has been blessed with Gary’s board leadership for the past two years,” said Terry Shaw, president/CEO for AdventHealth. “His input and insights were instrumental during a monumental period in our organization’s history, including our rebrand. I look forward to seeing Ron take up the mantle as we continue our transformational journey.”

Smith is currently president for the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, which serves more than 300,000 church members across eight states in the southern region of the United States. He served as executive secretary before being elected president in 2011. Before joining the Southern Union, Smith held roles as vice president of the Review and Herald Publishing Association, editor of Message magazine, and pastor of various congregations on the east and west coasts. He has been a member of the AdventHealth board since 2007.

“I’m very honored to be a part of such a thriving and prominent organization in God’s work,” said Smith. “AdventHealth touches millions of people with the healing ministry of Christ and I’m excited to serve in this capacity to help further advance its mission.”

Smith succeeds Thurber who is president for the Mid-America Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, located in a nine-state region in the Midwestern United States. Thurber will continue to serve as a member of the AdventHealth Board.

The AdventHealth Board of Directors consists of Seventh-day Adventist union officers, conference presidents, and university presidents from across the AdventHealth footprint, as well as appointed members of AdventHealth corporate leadership and other community organizations. Established in 1981, the organization provides leadership in healthcare in four Adventist regions: Lake, Mid-America, Southern, and Southwestern union conferences.

— Ingrid Hérnandez is senior communications specialist for AdventHealth.

The Power of a Simple Tract: Transforming Lives with Messages of Hope and Wholeness

Have you ever hit rock bottom and found hope from an unexpected source? For a 16-year-old girl from California, that hope came in the form of a pocket-sized Signs of the Times given to her by a stranger on an Amtrak train. Hers is one of countless stories of a tract sparking transformation. Take advantage of the holidays, and a limited sale, to spread the love of God organically with these life-changing materials.

50 Ministerial Spouses Unite for Community Service, Fellowship, and Training During the 2024 NAD Year-End Meeting

Community service, fellowship, and training sessions made up the spouses’ meetings during this year’s NAD Year-End Meetings, with roughly 50 spouses of conference leaders in attendance.

Report on 2024 Consolidated Enrollment

The Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities (AACU), comprised of the presidents and other top leaders from 13 Adventist colleges and universities in North America, has determined that the latest consolidated fall enrollment numbers for all 13 institutions totals 20,828 students. This increase of 256 students from the previous year marks the second consecutive year of total growth.

Charting a New Path: 2024 Administrators’ Conference Unites Leaders to Shape the Future of the Church in North America

It’s been 10 years since conference and union presidents, executive secretaries, and treasurers gathered in one room to brainstorm how best to carry out the church’s mission in North America. A long-awaited follow-up, the 2024 administrators’ conference hosted more than 200 conference and union officers at the NAD’s headquarters on Oct. 30-31.

In the Middle of It: A Thanksgiving Reflection

It’s easy to express gratitude when the outcome is favorable, when the struggle has passed, and when we can see the fruit of our perseverance. But what if we could learn to give thanks not just at the end of the journey but “in the middle of it”? What if we could cultivate the kind of gratitude that doesn’t wait for the resolution, but chooses to acknowledge God’s faithfulness even while the outcome is still unknown?