Religion

By PATRICK BUTLER
Religion Editor

The dedication of the Rev. Jerome Milton Annex will be held at 11 a.m. today at the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, 520 N. Horace Ave. The event will be attended by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler), State Rep. Leo Berman, State Sen. Kevin Eltife, Smith County Commissioner Joann Hampton, former Tyler Mayor Joey Seeber and Nelson Clyde IV.

The dedication of the Billy Hibbs Jr. and James I. Perkins Hall of Fame is also scheduled along with a ribbon cutting. Hibbs is the chairman of the Heartland Security Insurance Group. Perkins is the chairman of Citizen’s 1st Bank.

The new annex will house offices, classrooms and an assembly hall said Martha Roane, a member of the church. It was a surprise from the congregation to Milton that the new building was named after him, she said.

“He was totally unaware the congregation had made this decision recently,” she said. “It meant so much for him, having come from the struggling background he did and rising above the obstacles, to be honored in this fashion.”

Representatives from the Tyler Catholic School system, where Milton is employed as a track coach and the Texas Baptist State Foreign Mission Convention, where Milton is president, will also attend, she said. The event is expected to last one hour. The public is welcome.