MOULTRIE — The youth department of Union Missionary Baptist Church will sponsor its Fourth Annual Mother-Daughter Banquet at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at the Colquitt County Agricultural Complex. The guest speaker is the Rev. Shirley Strawter of Ty Ty, Ga.

Strawter began preaching in 1987 at various Women’s Day programs and conferences. She served as an usher for more than 40 years at Solomon Chapel A.M.E. in Ty Ty. She has been active in the A.M.E. Church since a she was a child.

She is a 1978 graduate of Talladega College in Talladega, Ala. She is presently employed with Len Lastinger Primary School in Tifton, Ga., as a physical education teacher and has been for 28 years. She has been nominated Teacher of the Year twice by her peers, Teacher of Excellence and Walmart Teacher of the Year.

In 2001, she became ordained an itinerant deacon and in 2003 she was ordained as an itinerant elder. In 2002, she became the pastor of Miller’s Chapel A.M.E. Church in Sumner, Ga., and now she is the pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Alapaha, Ga.

An author and poet, Strawter has written numerous Christian poems and stories. She has compiled and written several collections of poems including “Gathering Leaves,” “Seasoned With Grace” and “Hands and Hearts For Him.” She has also composed books of short stories including “My Plate Is Full, But Thank God for the Platter!,” “I Thought I Needed A Miracle, But I Only Needed God” and “The Brick Collector.”

She is also a member of the Ty Ty City Council and a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., of the Alpha Zeta Chapter.

Strawter is the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. O.Z. Strawter and has three siblings, Billy J. Strawter of Midland, Mich., Deborah J. Strawter of Ty Ty, and Ronnie J. Strawter of Tifton. She is also the mother of a daughter, Tori G. Strawter.

The Rev. R.O. Calhoun is pastor and Sis. Cora Robinson is the youth director.