Neil Brown and WNC UMM Men Receive National Awards

[caption id="attachment_5127" align="alignright" width="300"] Ed Shytle, president of the United Methodist Men Foundation presents a John Wesley Society Award to Neil Brown, president of the Western North Carolina Conference UM Men.[/caption] Neil Brown, president of the Conference United Methodist Men was awarded a John Wesley Society Award at  the United Methodist Men's Conference President's Meeting March 3-6, in Nashville, Tennessee.   To be named a fellow in the John Wesley Society is the highest honor that can be awarded by UM Men. Brown is a certified men’s ministry specialist and a deployed staff member of the General Commission on UM Men. At the same event, the Western North Carolina Conference was also recognized as having one of the most effective conference United Methodist Men's groups in the denomination.  They shared this honor with the South Carolina Conference. [caption id="attachment_5128" align="alignright" width="300"] Men package dehydrated meals for Stop Hunger Now[/caption] They provide funds for Carolina Cross Connection, T. Duckworth Ministries, the Society of St. Andrew, Strength for Service, Africa University, prison ministries, and a conference ministry that ministers to 400 people through 23 group homes. The conference provides e-mail news to 1,050 men across the conference. They boast the second highest number of charters in the U.S. The men packaged 10,000 Stop Hunger Now meals for emergency situations around the world. They changed their annual weekend UM Men rally to a one-day event. The men support scouting and restarted the conference disaster-response ministry after a five-year hiatus. Early response teams are being deployed throughout the conference. The men support the conference building team ministry and the Western North Carolina Children’s Home, and they assist in maintaining UMC camps along with workdays at local churches.