Joe White

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DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Joe White has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people who have attended his Christian-oriented Kanakuk Kamps in Missouri. He and his wife, Debbie Jo, took over operation of the camps in 1976. Joe White now serves as president and chairman of the board of Kanakuk Ministries. The camps host 20,000 campers and 2,500 college-age and professional staff members each summer.

White earned a B.S. degree in biology from SMU in 1970. He was a two-year starting defensive tackle for the SMU Mustangs and received the Mike Kelsey Heart Award. After graduating, he was a football coach at Texas A&M University before assuming responsibility for Kanakuk Kamps. He has received honorary doctorates from Southwest Baptist University in Missouri and Belhaven College in Mississippi and has authored 23 books for parents and teens.

White expanded his Christian camping vision by founding Kids Across America, which provides opportunities for 7,000 inner-city kids, including some from West Dallas, to attend camp each summer. White also founded Cross International, a world relief organization that cares for orphans and the impoverished in 30 Third World nations, and Men at the Cross, a national men’s ministry that seeks to “end spiritual fatherlessness” in America.