Latest news with #YoungLife
USA Today
10-07-2025
- General
- USA Today
Texans mourn the dead as search for more than 170 flood victims continues: Live updates
The community of Kerrville, Texas, ravaged by the catastrophic flooding of the Guadalupe River last week, is mourning its losses as rescue teams continue the grueling task of recovering the remains of missing victims. At least 119 people have been found dead in nearly a week since heavy rainfall overwhelmed the river and flowed through homes and youth camps in the early morning hours of July 4. Ninety-five of those killed were in the hardest-hit county in central Texas, Kerr County, where the toll includes at least three dozen children. Some 170 people are still missing throughout the state, and hopes of finding anyone else alive have diminished each passing day, with Kerr County authorities saying they haven't made a "live rescue" since the day of the flood. Among the missing are five campers and a counselor from the beloved Christian girls camp, Camp Mystic, which counted at least 27 children and staff among the death toll. Kerr County authorities and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have pledged that search crews will continue working until every missing person is found. They've also faced tough questions about who is to blame for the little notice of flood warnings. On Wednesday evening, crowds gathered at a Kerrville high school for a vigil to pray for the victims and missing. 'The kingdom of God looks like thousands of volunteers walking along the riverbanks clearing a path,' Kerrville resident Josh Smithson, the director of Christian youth outreach organization Young Life, said at the vigil. 'The kingdom of God looks like Kerr County rising together in a time of need.'
Express Tribune
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Druski's church camp parody goes viral with spot-on satire and nostalgia
Druski has once again gone viral with a comedic video that hilariously satirizes church camp culture. Shared on Instagram with the caption 'Those Church Camp's hit different,' the skit features exaggerated impressions of overenthusiastic youth pastors, awkward campers, and the overly intense atmosphere of religious summer retreats. The video captures the familiar vibe of church camps where pop songs like Soulja Boy or Ciara are transformed into worship anthems, and every conversation ends with a call to salvation. Druski delivers lines like 'You understand that Lord God' and 'Walk by faith not by sight' with a dry intensity that fans say perfectly reflects their own camp memories. Comments on the video quickly turned into a wave of nostalgic reactions. One user wrote, 'They always turned Soulja Boy or Ciara into summer church songs 😂,' while another joked, 'Camp should be called 'Coulda Been Sinners' and I want my 10%.' These responses highlight how relatable Druski's skit is for those who grew up attending similar events. Fans also praised Druski's attention to detail, noting how he nailed the subtle mannerisms of counselors and the emotional tone of group prayer sessions. The video has sparked conversations about his place among the top comedic creators online, with mentions of other influencers like Desi Banks. No cuz why is Druski at the Young Life church camp😭😭 im weakk😭😭 — t41i4 (@lycheejellyboba) June 29, 2025 Druski really got a skit for everything 😭😭😭 — p23rce (@p23rce) June 29, 2025 looking like bro out of scene in Sinners 😭 — cleyy (@cleyyreloaded) June 28, 2025 As reported by Kiera Dawson, Druski's ability to combine cultural commentary with authentic humor solidifies his reputation as one of the most original voices in digital comedy. His church camp parody is a standout example of how niche experiences, when executed with precision, can resonate universally.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From Back Office to Center Stage: Vena Honors Finance and Operations Heroes With 2025 Venny Awards
Honorees recognized for excellence in finance and operations, demonstrating outstanding innovation, leadership and strategic impact TORONTO, May 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vena, the only Complete FP&A platform powered by agentic AI and purpose-built to fully amplify the Microsoft technology ecosystem, today announced the winners of the 2025 Venny Awards. The awards, presented at this year's Excelerate Finance 2025 conference, celebrate the Heroes of Finance who are setting new standards for innovation, operational excellence and strategic leadership within their organizations. "The Venny Awards recognize leaders who aren't just embracing technology, but leveraging it to drive meaningful change across their organization," said Hunter Madeley, CEO of Vena. "These leaders are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in finance and operations, using data and technology to create real impact. We're proud to celebrate their achievements and the role they play in shaping the future of finance." The Venny Awards, comprised of seven categories, were presented to the following winners: Financial Modeling Mastery: Acknowledges individuals who leveraged Vena's platform to boost operational agility and resilience through advanced financial modeling techniques. Winner: Kwame Moloko, Acting Chief Financial Officer at Scancom Ltd (MTN Ghana). Moloko led the introduction of Vena at MTN Ghana, embedding it into core planning and reporting processes. His forward-thinking approach to financial modeling has helped his organization uncover new efficiencies and drive smarter, data-driven decisions. Financial Insights Innovator: Recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional use of Vena's analytics and AI capabilities to generate groundbreaking financial insights that transform strategic decision making. Winner: Brandon Combs, Director of Finance at Young Life. Combs has redefined how Young Life approaches data, using Vena's analytics and AI tools to turn financial complexity into clarity. His use of real-time data and enhanced analytics has helped transform the organization's decision-making process—surfacing key insights that drive meaningful action and measurable impact. His work exemplifies how data-driven innovation can shape what happens next in finance. Excellence in Complete Planning: Celebrates leaders who have mastered the integration of financial and operational planning to drive strategic insights and enhance organizational agility. Winner: Meg Bear, Controller at Turner Enterprises. Bear works diligently to find ways to make planning smarter, more aligned and more actionable. This award recognizes her commitment to complete planning that drives results and supports long-term success. Excellence in Financial Leadership: Honors leaders who have exemplified outstanding achievement in driving transformation to elevate the office of finance and improve business performance. Winner: Brandon Sharp, Chief Information Officer at Brookfield. Through the strategic use of Vena, Sharp has led Brookfield in building a continuously evolving, driver-based forecasting model that keeps pace with a volatile market. His leadership has redefined what agile planning looks like—breaking down silos, aligning cross-functional teams and delivering real-time insights that shape confident, data-driven decisions and meaningful impact. Microsoft Innovation Leadership: Celebrates individuals or teams who have leveraged Microsoft's ecosystem to drive transformative innovation in finance and operations, showcasing exemplary collaboration and technological excellence. Winner: Andrew McFarlane, Finance Manager at Kuali. McFarlane was a pioneering user of Vena Copilot, participating in the solution's beta program and demonstrating great technical acumen as one of the product's first power users. McFarlane's proactive approach to optimizing ETL processes and simplifying allocation templates has streamlined data management and improved overall workflow, making him a standout leader in the Vena community. Community Advocate Award: Celebrates those who have played a pivotal role in building and nurturing the FP&A community. The recipient of this award has demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication, continuously advocating for their peers and helping drive the community forward through innovative practices and collaborative efforts. Winner: Gus Arndt, Performance Reporting Manager, Associate Managing Director at Oakworth Capital Bank. As co-chair of the Banking & Credit Union user group at Vena, Arndt has demonstrated exceptional leadership, from setting agendas to facilitating meetings and driving collaboration. His advocacy and commitment to strengthening the FP&A community have made him a standout leader, dedicated to fostering innovation and knowledge sharing. Strategic Integration Partner: Recognizes partners who have integrated Vena's planning platform with other systems to enhance capabilities. Winner: Citrin Cooperman. A long-standing and trusted Vena Partner, Citrin Cooperman has been instrumental in helping customers unlock greater value from the Vena platform. Their expert integration strategies bridge Vena's Complete Planning platform with source systems to enhance the capabilities of the Office of Finance. By aligning technology with trust, Citrin Cooperman continues to empower finance teams to go further, faster—turning complexity into opportunity through collaboration. Looking ahead, the Venny Awards will continue to grow, welcoming nominations from a broader community to foster wider recognition of excellence in finance and operations. The program will expand to include new categories, reflecting the evolving role of finance. For more highlights on Excelerate Finance 2025, visit About VenaVena is the only agentic AI-powered FP&A platform purpose-built to harness the full power of the Microsoft technology ecosystem for finance teams everywhere. Vena amplifies Microsoft's world-leading productivity tools, cloud technology and AI innovation to make FP&A, operational planning and adjacent strategic processes more flexible, efficient and intelligent. Thousands of the world's leading companies rely on Vena to power their planning. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts Media:Jonathan PaulVice President, Content Marketingjpaul@
Business Wire
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
From Back Office to Center Stage: Vena Honors Finance and Operations Heroes With 2025 Venny Awards
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vena, the only Complete FP&A platform powered by agentic AI and purpose-built to fully amplify the Microsoft technology ecosystem, today announced the winners of the 2025 Venny Awards. The awards, presented at this year's Excelerate Finance 2025 conference, celebrate the Heroes of Finance who are setting new standards for innovation, operational excellence and strategic leadership within their organizations. 'The Venny Awards recognize leaders who aren't just embracing technology, but leveraging it to drive meaningful change across their organization,' said Hunter Madeley, CEO of Vena. 'These leaders are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in finance and operations, using data and technology to create real impact. We're proud to celebrate their achievements and the role they play in shaping the future of finance.' The Venny Awards, comprised of seven categories, were presented to the following winners: Financial Modeling Mastery: Acknowledges individuals who leveraged Vena's platform to boost operational agility and resilience through advanced financial modeling techniques. Winner: Kwame Moloko, Acting Chief Financial Officer at Scancom Ltd (MTN Ghana). Moloko led the introduction of Vena at MTN Ghana, embedding it into core planning and reporting processes. His forward-thinking approach to financial modeling has helped his organization uncover new efficiencies and drive smarter, data-driven decisions. Financial Insights Innovator: Recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional use of Vena's analytics and AI capabilities to generate groundbreaking financial insights that transform strategic decision making. Winner: Brandon Combs, Director of Finance at Young Life. Combs has redefined how Young Life approaches data, using Vena's analytics and AI tools to turn financial complexity into clarity. His use of real-time data and enhanced analytics has helped transform the organization's decision-making process—surfacing key insights that drive meaningful action and measurable impact. His work exemplifies how data-driven innovation can shape what happens next in finance. Excellence in Complete Planning: Celebrates leaders who have mastered the integration of financial and operational planning to drive strategic insights and enhance organizational agility. Winner: Meg Bear, Controller at Turner Enterprises. Bear works diligently to find ways to make planning smarter, more aligned and more actionable. This award recognizes her commitment to complete planning that drives results and supports long-term success. Excellence in Financial Leadership: Honors leaders who have exemplified outstanding achievement in driving transformation to elevate the office of finance and improve business performance. Winner: Brandon Sharp, Chief Information Officer at Brookfield. Through the strategic use of Vena, Sharp has led Brookfield in building a continuously evolving, driver-based forecasting model that keeps pace with a volatile market. His leadership has redefined what agile planning looks like—breaking down silos, aligning cross-functional teams and delivering real-time insights that shape confident, data-driven decisions and meaningful impact. Microsoft Innovation Leadership: Celebrates individuals or teams who have leveraged Microsoft's ecosystem to drive transformative innovation in finance and operations, showcasing exemplary collaboration and technological excellence. Winner: Andrew McFarlane, Finance Manager at Kuali. McFarlane was a pioneering user of Vena Copilot, participating in the solution's beta program and demonstrating great technical acumen as one of the product's first power users. McFarlane's proactive approach to optimizing ETL processes and simplifying allocation templates has streamlined data management and improved overall workflow, making him a standout leader in the Vena community. Community Advocate Award: Celebrates those who have played a pivotal role in building and nurturing the FP&A community. The recipient of this award has demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication, continuously advocating for their peers and helping drive the community forward through innovative practices and collaborative efforts. Winner: Gus Arndt, Performance Reporting Manager, Associate Managing Director at Oakworth Capital Bank. As co-chair of the Banking & Credit Union user group at Vena, Arndt has demonstrated exceptional leadership, from setting agendas to facilitating meetings and driving collaboration. His advocacy and commitment to strengthening the FP&A community have made him a standout leader, dedicated to fostering innovation and knowledge sharing. Strategic Integration Partner: Recognizes partners who have integrated Vena's planning platform with other systems to enhance capabilities. Winner: Citrin Cooperman. A long-standing and trusted Vena Partner, Citrin Cooperman has been instrumental in helping customers unlock greater value from the Vena platform. Their expert integration strategies bridge Vena's Complete Planning platform with source systems to enhance the capabilities of the Office of Finance. By aligning technology with trust, Citrin Cooperman continues to empower finance teams to go further, faster—turning complexity into opportunity through collaboration. Looking ahead, the Venny Awards will continue to grow, welcoming nominations from a broader community to foster wider recognition of excellence in finance and operations. The program will expand to include new categories, reflecting the evolving role of finance. For more highlights on Excelerate Finance 2025, visit exceleratesummit.. About Vena Vena is the only agentic AI-powered FP&A platform purpose-built to harness the full power of the Microsoft technology ecosystem for finance teams everywhere. Vena amplifies Microsoft's world-leading productivity tools, cloud technology and AI innovation to make FP&A, operational planning and adjacent strategic processes more flexible, efficient and intelligent. Thousands of the world's leading companies rely on Vena to power their planning. For more information, visit venasolutions. com.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ada Lions Club donates to Young Life
By Richard R. Barron | The Ada News Ada Lions Club recently made a $500 donation to Young Life, a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. Young Life was founded in 1941, is in all 50 states and in more than 100 countries around the world. Their ministries reach middle school, high school and college aged students along with other specialized ministries. 'Young Life has just begun in Pontotoc County,' Diana Drummond of the Ada Lions Club said. 'We have a committee of local community adults, a growing number of Young Life leaders and our first Wyldlife (Young Life for Middle Schoolers) club planned for April 14th, as well as camp dates for this summer.' Drummond said that to continue to grow in Pontotoc County, the organization is looking for those who will partner with them, 'in praying, giving and leading.' For more information contact Angela and Andrew Pratt at: pontotocyounglife@ or come to Chick-fil-A Monday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m.
