Indiana Wesleyan University to Honor Gaithers
Mar. 16, 2010
Bill and Gloria Gaither, internationally known gospel songwriters and recording artists, will be inducted into Indiana Wesleyan University’s Society of World Changers during a convocation at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 24.
The convocation will be in IWU’s new 3,800-seat chapel-auditorium, which opened in January. The convocation is free and open to the public.
The Gaithers will be the seventh inductees into the Society, which was established in 2003 to honor people who serve as the salt and light of their generation.
The Bill Gaither Trio was founded in 1956 while Gaither was a college student. Six years later, he married a teaching colleague, Gloria Sickal, who would eventually become his songwriting partner.
The Gaithers decided in 1967 to devote full-time to music. Together they have published more than 700 songs, recorded 40 albums, produced 100 videos and founded Gaither Music Company, which is based in Alexandria, Indiana.
Gaither Music includes a record company, concert booking, television production, copyright management, a retail store, recording studio and telemarketing department.
The first person inducted into the Society of World Changers was the late Bob Briner, an award-winning TV producer, sports executive and author. His book, Roaring Lambs, laid the foundation for the Society.
Other World Changer inductees include Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts; Dr. Ben Carson a pediatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions; Dr. James Dobson, Founder of Focus on the Family; Frank Peretti, a Christian author; and Joni Eareckson Tada, an advocate for the international disability community.
