THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604190511
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Joe Gibbs has spent most of his life bathed in success.
Thursday, the former Washington Redskins coach helped honor a ministry and a minister who have committed their existence to the down-and-out.
The Union Mission celebrated 104 years of service with a luncheon and open house at the facility, which says it provided more than 135,000 meals and 36,000 nights of lodging last year to the homeless and destitute. The main purpose of the event was to honor the Rev. Ted Bashford, who has guided the Mission for 40 years.
``Rev. Bashford is a very giving and shy fellow and did not want anything for himself,'' Mission board member Judge Hal Bonney said. ``He only agreed to do something if it was a witness for the Mission and what it's done.''
That's why Gibbs was brought in.
``We felt it would be good to have someone of a prominent stature who is a Christian man and would be interested in the community services we render,'' Bashford said.
Gibbs is an outspoken Christian who founded a home for troubled teens in Washington. He said he speaks at three or four Christian outreach events a month and gives motivational speeches to corporations about twice a month.
The three-time Super Bowl champion coach spoke twice Thursday - first to a luncheon for board members and supporters and then to a couple hundred people in a public ceremony in the Union Mission lobby.
Gibbs drew on anecdotes from his three vocations - as a coach, NASCAR team owner and TV commentator - to illustrate that a person's priorities must be in order to achieve success. Gibbs said those priorities should be God first, family and the people who you influence second, and your job third. He likened God to the head coach in the game of life, and called the Bible God's game plan.
``If we don't study the game plan, chances are we're not going to be successful,'' Gibbs said.
Gibbs acknowledged he knew little about the Union Mission's ministry until a few days ago, when he began reading material to prepare for his talk. The Mission's stated purpose is: ``To aid the poor and needy; to reform the erring; to help those who are out of the way; to feed the hungry; to preach the gospel; and to rescue the perishing.''
Gibbs implored the audience to invest their talents, resources and time in the Mission - ``You might be saving lives,'' he said - and vowed he would become a financial supporter of the interdenominational ministry on the corner of Brooke Avenue and Boush Street.
``The government would have a tough time doing anything like this,'' Gibbs said of the services the Mission provides without the benefit of city, state or federal aid. ``It's a testimony to what the community can do.
``When we get to heaven, the saints we will see standing there will be the people who have invested in other people's lives.'' ILLUSTRATION: MIKE HEFFNER
The Virginian-Pilot
Former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs praised the Union Mission and its
director, the Rev. Ted Bashford, on Thursday.
by CNB