SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Evangel University Communication Department inducted two new members of its Wall of Fame during the 2018 Homecoming celebration.
Each year, the department chooses alumni to honor during a special ceremony attended by students, professors, alumni, family and friends of the honorees.
Lloyd Parker Erdvig ’75 and Amber Weigand Buckley ’97 were honored Friday, Oct. 19, 2018.
“It is always a pleasure to welcome our alumni back to campus and share with our students their accomplishments,” says Dr. Cameron Pace, chair of the Communication Department and professor of film and television.
To be eligible for Evangel’s Wall of Fame, the alumni must be 40 years or older, have a successful career in a communication field, and continue to be a person of faith. Each awardee was nominated by other alumni and voted on by Communication Department faculty.
Lloyd Parker Erdvig
Lloyd Parker Erdvig is a Christian music radio veteran of more than 45 years. He was born and raised in a Christian home on Long Island in New York and developed an early love for Christian music.
He graduated from Evangel College with a degree in Communications in 1975. It was while at Evangel that Lloyd got involved with radio — using the name Lloyd Parker on air — and eventually managed the campus radio station, KECC.
While still a junior, he became the first program director of a new Christian radio station in Springfield, KLFJ. Returning to New York after graduation, he spent the next two decades in radio there, including 17 years at Christian music radio pioneering station, WLIX, where he was VP/General Manager and part owner.
Lloyd moved to California in 1996. While working as general manager of K-LOVE and the Air 1 Radio Networks, he founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of Christian Music Planet magazine. Lloyd has been Chief Operating Officer at WAY-FM in Colorado Springs, CO since 2005.
He is a long-time member of the board of directors of both the Gospel Music Association and the National Christian Radio Seminar & Christian Music Broadcasters, and now is a member of the 2018 Wall of Fame.
Lloyd and his wife Ellen will soon be married 39 years and have a son, Rory and a daughter, Taryn. They have 6 grandchildren and they reside in Colorado Springs and attend Academy Christian Church.
Amber Weigand-Buckley
A self-employed writer specializing in global brand and communications management, Amber Weigand-Buckley is a member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) and has more than 20 years of award-winning media experience. She was named the AWSA Member of the Year in 2015.
The publications she has served have received more than 16 awards from the Evangelical Press Association, including OnCourse magazine for the youth department of the Assemblies of God. Currently, Amber serves clients in many capacities including her role as marketing, communications and brand director for the Right to the Heart Ministry Network, which includes AWSA.
Amber is the founding editor and art director of Leading Hearts magazine — which has received an EPA award every year of its 5 years of publication — and serves Asia Pacific Media (a ministry of AGWM) as a fundraising consultant as well as editor and art director for their multi-media e-mag MISSION magazine.
Amber has been married to Brit-native, Philip, for over 24 years and they have 3 daughters: Saffron (18), Imogen (15) and Penelope (11).
The Communication Department
Each 2018 Wall of Fame honoree receives a crystal trophy to take home and a plaque that hangs in the Ephraim Media Center lobby, in the Department of Communication.
Evangel’s student media began with the newspaper when the University was founded in 1955, and opportunities have expanded with the changing times.
Students study video, audio and film production, journalism, public relations, advertising, public speaking, multimedia design and much more — all applied through methods of electronic media, print and oral communication.
About Evangel
Evangel University, with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS), is a comprehensive Christian university committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to serve the church and society globally.
Evangel and AGTS serve more than 2,100 students from all 50 states and numerous foreign countries, offering 70 undergraduate majors and 19 master’s and doctoral degrees.
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SIDEBAR: Members of the Wall of Fame
2014 — Evangel launched the Communication Department’s Wall of Fame in 2014 with five inductees, all with Springfield ties:
- “Aunt Norma” Champion, pioneer broadcaster and former State Senator;
- Shirley Shedd, retired chair of the department;
- Steve Grant, KY3 News anchor;
- Kay Logsdon, vice president of The Food Channel/Noble Communication; and
- Brandon Beck, KY3 News meteorologist.
2015 — Honored were:
- Dave Davis, Hillcrest High School media teacher;
- Krista Sederwall Casey, a managing producer for CBN; and
- Dr. Norm Mintle, dean of the school of Communication and Creative Arts at Liberty University.
2016 — Honored were:
- Steven Yake, Dove award-winner and Nashville-based film producer/director;
- Dr. Tamara Tarpley Welter, chair of the Media, Journalism & Public Relations Department at Biola University; and,
- Matt Wilkie, field team director for international service organization Convoy of Hope.
2017 — Honored were:
- Lisa Swaim, associate professor of Cinema and Media Arts at Biola University;
- Barry Copeland, network director of New Life Media; and
- Paul K. Logsdon, director of public relations for Evangel University.
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