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PLAINVIEW — Many Wayland Baptist University alumni refer to the school with terms like “home” and “family”, but for Freda Provence and her late husband Joe, that was really true. From being a student to serving as a longtime employee to now being a supporter, Freda has spent her lifetime impacting Wayland students in some capacity.

It’s fitting then for Provence to be honored with the award that already bears her name — the Joe and Freda Distinguished Lifetime Service Award. Provence will be recognized at the Blue and Gold Awards Banquet, which is slated for 6 p.m., Feb. 9 as part of Wayland’s 2024 Homecoming weekend.

The couple came to Wayland in the 1960s for Joe to finish his degree, and then he joined the staff in 1967. For many years, the Provences oversaw the Miss Wayland Pageant and worked with the winners to prepare them to compete in the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant a few months later. She was also an unpaid assistant to Joe in his role as cheerleading sponsor.

Freda completed her own WBU degree in 1972. Like her husband, she then joined the staff in 1982, serving as administrative assistant to then-president Dr. David Jester. She stayed in that role as she served interim president Dr. Glenn Barnett and two other presidents, Dr. Lanny Hall and Dr. Wallace Davis. Freda retired in 2007, but her impact on the university did not end.

In retirement, Joe and Freda helped found and lead Wayland’s Friends of Music, a group of supporters that later became Friends of the Arts. They took a personal interest in many students, providing much encouragement for their educational journey.

The couple did much the same in the athletics department. Both were known as fixtures in Hutcherson Center for basketball games and avid supporters of many sports. For their dedication, the university inducted them into the Athletics Hall of Honor in 2020. The Provences received the President’s Award, one of the most prestigious honors for longtime supporters, in 2018. Freda has been active in the Sally Society, a women’s philanthropy group, and she has supported many other endeavors on the campus.

Just after Joe died in January 2022 ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉúϵÁÐÂ鶹, the Wayland Alumni Association renamed the lifetime service award for the couple.

Tickets for Wayland’s Blue and Gold Banquet can be purchased for $15 before Feb. 1 by calling the Office of Alumni Relations at 806-291-3600.