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Scholarship Honors Servant Leadership of FHU Student

Anniston Butler with her father, David Butler

Scholarship recipient Anniston Butler with her father, David Butler (Photo credit: Jud Davis)

Although leadership may be found among many individuals, a rarer quality is servant leadership. Valerie Lowe Watrous, the daughter of Jerry and Ann Lowe of Henderson, Tennessee, embodied servant leadership. She was very involved during her time at Freed-Hardeman University. She sang for Chorus and the Ambassadors, played softball, and was active with her social club and Makin’ Music. She met Trent Watrous at FHU in the spring of 1993. They married in 1994 and moved to Richmond, Virginia, for three years before returning to Henderson.

Valerie was an active member of the Henderson Church of Christ where she often taught ladies’ Bible classes. She also spent time in Guyana doing medical mission work. She had a heart of service and an extraordinary ability to lead others through her example. She served quietly, but her home was always open to any and every one. If she saw a need at her work or in her congregation, she was more than happy to fill it without question.

Unfortunately, Valerie’s life was cut short Nov. 29, 2004. That Sunday evening as she was walking home from worship service, she was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Her influence and the impact she left on the Freed-Hardeman community inspired her husband, Trent, to establish the Valerie Lowe Watrous Women in Leadership Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

Valerie Lowe Watrous

Valerie Lowe Watrous

“The purpose for the scholarship was to recognize Valerie’s ability to lead,” Trent said. “Let’s encourage young ladies who are demonstrating leadership and reward those who will continue to demonstrate it throughout the rest of their lives.”

Anniston Butler is one of eight young ladies who have been awarded the scholarship. She graduated from Lawrence County High School in 2018. Throughout her high school career, she participated in both beauty pageants and drag races. She was a driver with the Junior Drag Racing League. Her love of drag racing was inspired in part by her father’s Pontiac and LS motor performance shop, Butler Performance. She began drag racing when she was 12 years old and raced until she was 18 when she outgrew the league. “I would love to have kept racing, but between school and work, I just didn’t have the time!” Anniston explained. In addition, she participated in many beauty pageants, placing in the top 15 at the International Junior Miss pageant in Orlando, Florida. In 2018, she was crowned Miss Lawrence County.

Anniston is currently a junior and an active member of the Xi Chi Delta social club. She served as Xi Chi’s freshman representative and community service representative, and is currently the club’s junior representative. She is also a member of the Society of Future Marketers and FHU’s Campus Delegate Team. As part of CDT, Anniston gives campus tours to prospective students and their families, assists the admissions team on Maroon and Gold Days, and writes postcards to high school students to encourage them to attend the university.

A marketing major, she hopes to receive both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees when she graduates. She plans to use her education to open a boutique in Lawrenceburg. Anniston is a member of the Leoma Church of Christ, which she attends with her father and younger sister.

“I am so thankful to have received the Valerie Lowe Watrous Women in Leadership Scholarship because of what it stands for,” Anniston said. “I hope to be considered a woman of high moral standards and values while making an impact at my university and in the community around me. This scholarship is a huge blessing, and it’s my hope that I can uphold all it means to have received this scholarship.”

Trent said, “It’s not always an easy task when choosing a recipient for the scholarship. We look down the road to the future of some of these young ladies. Some years, we award it to multiple ladies and some years we do not award it at all. Servant leadership is not a period of time in life. It’s a lifestyle.”

Valerie’s life and example truly left an impact on the university, and it continues to make an impact with the young ladies who reflect her life through their character. “I am very thankful to the family of Valerie Watrous and the kindness that they have shown me,” Anniston said. “This opportunity has been a true blessing, and I look forward to seeing where my education takes me.”

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