Buckner Employee Honored as Distinguished Alum
Henry Jackson, Buckner’s senior director for international operations, was named the Angelo State University Alumni Association’s 2011 Distinguished Alumnus.
Jackson, who graduated ASU in 1994, came to Buckner Children and Family Services in Dallas 21 years ago. He was an All-American linebacker at ASU, followed by a stint in the Canadian Football League and almost played for the Chicago Bears.
“I felt a passion to work with kids,” he said. “I saw an ad for a job at Buckner, applied for it and got hired as a childcare specialist working with troubled teens. It was a calling in my life to do that. I wanted to help other people, the less fortunate or vulnerable kids and families.
“My father died when I was young and my brother was shot,” Jackson said. “I knew the impact that had in my life, so I wanted to try and make a difference in other people’s lives.”
In January, Jackson was appointed senior director for international operations. He supervises Buckner’s missions in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru and Russia.
In the nomination letter, Buckner President and fellow ASU alum Albert Reyes said, “If all I was writing you regarding Henry was limited to his career at Buckner, he may not qualify as a Distinguished Alumnus. The bigger story is the person Henry has become as well as the obstacles he overcame to be one of our strongest leaders at Buckner during one of the most expansive periods in our 132-year history.”
Jackson also serves as an ordained minister at the Emmanuel NewLife Fellowship in Dallas, where he leads Bible studies and teaches an adult Sunday school class.
This story originally appeared in the Angelo State University Alumni Magazine, Fall 2011.
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