Grace Bristow is happy to see Campbellsville University flourish

Drew November 15, 2014 0 Comments

Original Source – Winter 2014 – Page 7

two men looking at woman on her phone — During a break at a Church Relations Council meeting at Campbellsville University, Grace Bristow shares a laugh with the Rev. Matthew Smyzer, center, director of the Baptist Fellowship Center in Louisville, Ky., and a member of the CU Board of Trustees; and the Rev. Steve Sholar, left, pastor of Edgewood Baptist Church in Nicholasville, Ky., and the incoming chair of the Church Relations Council.
(CU Photo by Linda Waggener)

Grace Bristow may not have attended a single class at Campbellsville University, but that doesn’t mean CU doesn’t hold a special place in her heart.

“Campbellsville University means a lot to me,” she said.

Bristow, an Owensboro, Ky., native, has had a connection to CU since she married her late husband, Taylor, a 1952 Campbellsville College graduate. Her daughter, Allison Bristow Price, graduated in 1985, while her son, Steve, and her grandson, Matt, also attended the university.

“I know that the school has played a big part in the development of members of my family,” she said. “I am very interested in Campbellsville University, and am happy to see her flourish, with added majors, added satellite locations, as well as increased enrollment. I support CU financially as I am able, I support CU in prayer and I encourage high school students to consider CU for their higher education.”

She has been a member of CU’s Church Relations Council since the mid-1980s and has served as chair elect, chair and secretary for many years. She is a member-at-large of the CRC Executive Committee.

“Even though I have not attended even one class at CU, because of the people I have met through the CRC, I can say that I have friends not only all over our state, but also in other places as well,” she said.

The most important thing about CU “is the Christian atmosphere,” Bristow said.

“Any school with visionary administration can offer academics, sports, arts—all the things that make a great school—but to teach the students to love God, country and each other can only be accomplished by staff and faculty who practice those virtues.”

She believes any school needs to have her name, location and opportunities made known to others.

“Anything that we do to spread a good word about CU will be advantageous to the school and to all of us who are associated in any way with her,” she said. “I tell people that CU is a very good school academically—that the faculty and staff care about the students.”

Bristow works four days a week at Buena Vista Baptist Church as a secretary and plays piano (which includes a Wednesday prayer meeting, two Sunday services, two praise band practices and one choir rehearsal) at Macedonia Baptist Church.

When she turned 80 years old, “I finally decided to slow down.”

Her hobbies include needlework, reading, music and watching game shows and NCIS on television. She has four children, 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.