Parents of the Year, Dr. David M. (’82) and Laurie (’81) Vanderpool of Brentwood, Tenn., were honored last Friday in Chapel.
The Vanderpools founded Mobile Medical Disaster Relief in 2005, a non-profit organization that builds and sustains hospitals and medical clinics. MMDR provides medicine and other medical equipment, such as prosthetics, to 15 countries around the world.
The Vanderpools were nominated by their son, David S. Vanderpool (’10). David S. Vanderpool is also the MMDR international projects manager.
“Their greatest achievement is certainly their lives. They model Christian love and service better than anyone else I know or have witnessed,” said David S. Vanderpool. “The greatest thing I have learned from my parents is a selfless love.”
The couple was selected from a pool of 30 other candidates; each were nominated electronically last spring by students. The First-Year Program and the Alumni Association then narrowed nominees to two or three finalists.
“The Vanderpools have a long history of support for ACU, both financially and in volunteering their time,” said Samantha Adkins, senior alumni relations officer. “They open up their home near Nashville to host parties for prospective students.”
After David M. Vanderpool graduated from ACU with a bachelor’s degree in biology, he received his medical degree from the Texas Tech University School of Medicine in 1987. David M. Vanderpool is a member of the American Society of General Surgeons. Laurie Vanderpool is a current member of the ACU Alumni advisory board and regularly organizes mission trips to Mozambique, Honduras and Haiti.
As soon as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti occurred, the Vanderpool family worked to distribute medical supplies, administer vaccinations and set up a field hospital.
The Vanderpools are not only ACU Parents of the Year, they have also been nominated to receive the People Magazine Reader’s Choice Hero award for their efforts in Haiti with MMDR. Voting for the Reader’s Choice Hero award ends Oct. 8.
“They serve at all times, caring for others ahead of themselves, all the while doing so with the love and the joy of the Lord within them. They are beautiful role models,” David S. Vanderpool said.
