Names in the News

Former Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention executive director and longtime Hawaii pastor O.W. “Dub” Efurd died in Wahiawa, Hawaii, Aug. 9.

Efurd, 68, had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for several months and was recently hospitalized with double pneumonia.

Efurd served as executive director of the HPBC from 1989 to 2003. Under his leadership, the number of HPBC congregations grew from 82 to 117.

Dianne Daniels has been named the new multicultural ministry consultant for the national Woman’s Missionary Union.

Daniels, who joined the WMU staff July 1, worked as a Spanish teacher for the past 16 years in high schools in Burlington and Greensboro, N.C. Prior to teaching, she and her husband, Bain, served as missionaries through the International Mission Board from 1981-1987 in Bogotá, Colombia.

Wendy Wakefield has been named sales and marketing manager for New Hope Publishers, a publishing arm of WMU.

Wakefield, who joined the New Hope staff Aug. 1, previously worked as an advertising sales representative and marketing manager for Ingram Book Company in LaVergne, Tenn., and as operations manager of Independent Christian Catalogs (ICC) in Nashville.

Wakefield was raised on the mission field in Mexico, where her parents continue to serve.