<BillNo> <Sponsor>
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 36
By Pody
SJR0036
002078
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A RESOLUTION to honor and commend Robert Andrew
Huddleston of Wilson County.
WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should salute those
citizens who, through their extraordinary efforts, have distinguished themselves as community
leaders of whom we can all be proud; and
WHEREAS, one such noteworthy person is Robert Andrew Huddleston, a highly
respected member of his community who has dedicated himself to improving the quality of life
for his fellow citizens; and
WHEREAS, a native of Wilson County, Andy Huddleston graduated from Lebanon High
School in 1971 and attended Nashville Technical Institute, where he briefly studied electrical
engineering before transferring to Union University in Jackson; and
WHEREAS, it was at Union University where his career in ministry began, and he went
on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Ministries from the University of the
Nations in Kailua Kona, Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huddleston began his career as a missionary in 1977 and continued
this work for forty years with a non-denominational para-church organization called Youth With
A Mission (YWAM); and
WHEREAS, during his time with YWAM, he developed a Volunteer Support
Development Seminar to assist faith-based organizations with financial support services and
training; in 2017, he departed the organization as a staff development coordinator at YWAM's
headquarters in Kailua Kona, Hawaii; and
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WHEREAS, an ordained minister and Bible teacher, Mr. Huddleston has a decades-long
career in pairing biblical principles with his lectures on the financial workings of international
ministries; and
WHEREAS, Andy Huddleston taught biblical principles of self-finance nationally and
internationally from 1991 to 2022, and in 2000, he established a nonprofit, Mission Enablers
International, to service the finances of missionaries and ministries; and
WHEREAS, currently, he is founder and president of MEI, headquartered in Bentonville,
Arkansas; under his leadership, MEI regularly publishes books by Christian authors and
continues to serve YWAM ministry locations in Adams, Tennessee, and Heredia, Costa Rica, as
well as numerous organizations, churches, and freelance missionaries. He also presides over
the Tennessee nonprofit Kenya Islands Mission, which supports eco-missions in Kenya; and
WHEREAS, wholly devoted to his family, Mr. Huddleston is grateful for the love and
support of his wife of fifty years, the former Susan Grace McMahon of Appleton, Wisconsin;
together, the couple has been blessed with seven children and nineteen grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, in his memoir, White Knuckle Faith, he documents his and his wife's journey
in Central America as a young and growing family relying on God's providence; and
WHEREAS, Andy Huddleston epitomizes the spirit and commitment to family and
community that are characteristic of a true Tennessean; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate that the members of this General Assembly acknowledge
and applaud Mr. Huddleston for his dedication to the State of Tennessee and its citizens; now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURR ING, that we honor and commend Robert Andrew Huddleston
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for his lifetime of service in ministry and as a missionary, teacher, and leader, extending to him
our best wishes for much continued success.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
without House or Senate designation.