Yellow Rose Luncheon
Mrs. Lesley Wyse ’72
Featured Speaker
This year’s featured speaker at the Yellow Rose Luncheon will be Lesley Wyse ’72.
Wyse received a bachelor’s degree from HPU and was a student in the Academy of Freedom honors program. Since her time as a student, Wyse has remained a dedicated alumna, returning to campus for events, maintaining connections with fellow classmates and serving as a member of HPU’s Board of Trustees from 2014-2023. She received a master’s degree from University of Houston Clear Lake City and is currently working toward a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Wyse is a member at First Baptist Church Boerne, where she has served on the Church Council for the past three years and is an adult growth group teacher, a ladies’ Bible study teacher and facilitator, and a member of the prayer team. She retired from Fort Bend Christian Academy as superintendent in 2009 and served as interim executive director of FBC Boerne from 2019-2020. Wyse is married to Jodi ’71 and they have two grown children, Tami Wells and Jed Wyse, and four grandchildren.
2025 Yellow Rose Scholarship Luncheon
11:30 a.m., Thursday, April 24, Mabee University Center
At the luncheon, three individuals will be recognized: the Yellow Rose Award Winner and the Yellow Rose Scholarship Recipients. All are individuals who embody the Christian values and beliefs foundational to HPU and are servant leaders to those around them. The event gives individuals from the community and friends of HPU the chance to acknowledge these individuals and to contribute to the Yellow Rose Scholarship Endowment.
Table Sponsorships Available on February 3, 2025
All table sponsorships directly fund the Yellow Rose Scholarship Endowment, which will benefit students for years to come. Those wishing to sponsor a table at this year’s luncheon can call the Office of University Advancement at 325-649-8007. The deadline for table sponsorship is April 1. However, the popular event will have limited seating and those interested in attending are encouraged to reserve a table as early as possible.
2025 Yellow Rose Award Recipient,
Wanda Jackson
Brownwood’s Wanda Jackson has been selected by the HPU Women’s Club to receive the 2025 Yellow Rose Award.
Jackson was born and raised in a Christian home in the Dallas area. She met her future husband, Richard, in seventh grade and the two began dating in high school. They have been together for more than 70 years. After their wedding, she moved to Brownwood as he pursued his education at Howard Payne. She worked for J.R. Beadel for one year before having their first son, Don. Jackson then dedicated her time to raising their family and serving in their church.
The couple served in churches in Bangs, May, Bluff Dale, Cleburne, Sulphur Springs, Phoenix, AZ, and through 20 interim pastorates. In addition to her role as wife, mother and pastor’s wife, Jackson also taught Sunday school, Girls in Action and young adult women.
During their time in Phoenix, Pastor Jackson saw a need in the church for the preschool department and asked Wanda to serve. She began serving as director of preschool and for 12 years oversaw the preschool ministry that had up to 300 children on a given day. She saw it as a privilege to be trusted to care for and teach young ones about the love of Jesus. After the church hired a full-time director, Wanda returned to her passion of teaching young adult women in the church.
The couple moved back to Texas after 25 years in Arizona and made their home in Granbury and then eventually Brownwood. Jackson has a deep love for HPU and has supported the university, alongside her husband, in many ways through the years. She has served with the Christian Women’s Job Corps of Brownwood for more than 20 years as a volunteer, board member, and two-time board chair. The Jacksons are active members of First Baptist Church of Brownwood. They have three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.