Greg Edmonds Young Leader Award Pictured are Greg Edmonds (center) with Joy Bryant (left), executive director of alumni relations and Dr. David J. Spittal (right), Southern Wesleyan University president

Greg Edmonds, a 1997 graduate of SWU with a major in religion, has become known as a world changer. Edmonds helped with disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Ike, going twice to Bayou La Batre, six times to New Orleans and twice to help in Texas. When the floods came, he was ready and willing to go to Iowa and helped in Atlanta when the city was under water.

Edmonds took his compassion to other parts of the world where he provided hands-on assistance in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and, most recently, Haiti.

His leadership has been witnessed by the local church and the S.C. District of The Wesleyan Church in roles as youth leader, assistant pastor, member of the district board of administration and missions coordinator for short-term trips. He has been showcased on a local television talk show, where he shared his passion for helping the Haitian people. Recently appointed by Gloral Partners as missionaries, he and his wife, Heidi, will take their two children for an extended call to Haiti, where he will oversee the building of a new hospital with a grant that has been secured from the United Kingdom.