2018 Russell H. Perry Award Dinner Honors Raymond H. Harris

Dallas Baptist University honored Raymond Harris as the recipient of the 2018 Russell H. Perry Free Enterprise Award during the annual award dinner that was held on Monday, November 19, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas.

Established in 1988, the gala dinner continues to honor leaders whose lives are testimonies of achievements in free enterprise and service to the community. The event is named in memory of Dallas business leader and philanthropist Russell H. Perry, whose life of service impacted many. Over the past 31 years, the dinner has provided scholarship support for over 2,400 DBU students. This year’s dinner was chaired by Dr. Ron Harris, Founder and President of MEDIAlliance International and DBU Trustee, who also served as emcee throughout the evening.

Jim Denison, Founder and CEO of The Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, provided the evening’s invocation, and DBU Graduate Student Madison Fuller, who is Miss Texas 2018, provided the Pledge of Allegiance.

Following a word of gratitude from Dr. Adam C. Wright, President of DBU, Texas State Representative Phil King served as the honorary chair and gave the introduction to the evening’s keynote speaker, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford. Afterwards, Mark Wells, Senior Commercial Lending Officer, gave the award and video presentations, and served as the chair of the evening.

Bertrain Bailey, Senior Pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Dallas, provided the benediction for the evening.

Raymond H. Harris, the recipient of this year’s award, is an architect, author, venture capitalist, and executive movie producer. He established an architectural firm specializing in corporate architecture in 1983, which was named as the number two retail design firm in McGraw-Hill’s Architectural Record magazine in 2013, 2014, 2015.

He graduated from The University of Oklahoma as first in his class, and was selected as the Outstanding Senior in the College of Architecture. Now, he is a current Board Member of The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture, and was named as the Outstanding Alumni 2013-2014.

He is a founding partner of the Global Cities Movement Day efforts in New York City, a co-founder of the Christian Economic Forum, and is actively involved with international sustainable community development projects in Asia and Africa.

Raymond is chairman of the Board of Erwin Brothers Entertainment, and previously served on the boards of OMF International (formerly the China Inland Mission founded in 1865), Pine Cove Camps, and Crown Financial Ministries. Additionally, he serves as a board member of Movement.Org and OnQ (Tech Company).

He is an executive producer for movies distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment and Sony Pictures, including the movie, I Can Only Imagine. He is the author of Business by Design and The Heart of Business, and has hiked every one of the Continental U.S. National Parks. For 13 years, Raymond also served as a scoutmaster.

He and his wife, Marydel, are active at The Village Church’s Dallas Northway campus. Together, they have four children and six grandchildren.