Debby Akerman of Ocean View Baptist Church in Myrtle Beach was unanimously elected as president of national WMU by members of the organization during the WMU Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting June 14 in Orlando, Fla.
Debby AkermanA native of Massachusetts, Akerman has been involved in WMU on local, associational, state and national levels. In the church, she has led Girls in Action (GA) organizations since 1982 and served as church WMU director for years. Additional involvement in GA includes serving as associational GA consultant in New Hampshire Baptist Association and Waccamaw Baptist Association, GA specialist for South Carolina WMU since 2002 and South Carolina GA camp consultant and camp nurse since 2001.
Akerman also served as WMU recording secretary (1992-1993) and WMU president (1993-1997) for the Baptist Convention of New England, vice president of national WMU (1993-1997), and South Carolina WMU board member (2003-2007).
In 2007, she received the Dellanna West O’Brien Award for Women’s Leadership Development, an annual award given to a Baptist woman who demonstrates the ability to foster leadership in women.
In their community, Akerman and her husband, Brad, share a ministry leading Bible studies at Street Reach, a mission in Myrtle Beach that ministers to the homeless and those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. In addition, she frequently participates and leads in domestic and international mission trips, including recent ones to Lynch, Ky., Mexico and India.
A graduate of New England Baptist School of Nursing in Boston, Mass., Akerman ministered to others through a 30-year career in nursing. She will succeed Kaye Miller, also a registered nurse, who served as president of national WMU since 2005.
The Akermans have one daughter and two grandchildren.