“She has been such a servant for the Lord Jesus Christ and for this association. She has been the rock of this association—she held it all together.”

These were the words of Marvin Palmer, who was a member of the building committee for the new Baptist Association building on Highway 25 which was dedicated on April 2, 2006. He was referring to Anna Belle Griffis Nicholson who is retiring as coordinator of the Baptist Association, with 20 years of service. A retirement drop-in was held in her honor Sunday at the Association building.

About 100 people attended.

 “I’ll miss it, but I don’t feel I can do my best work anymore,” said Mrs. Nicholson, who has experienced some health-related problems recently. “I feel it’s time to turn it over to someone else. But I’ve enjoyed it.”

She said she remembers when Essie Robertson called her and asked her about serving as coordinator after she retired from Dodd’s Dime Store. She didn’t hesitate to do what she could.

“There weren’t a lot of monetary rewards, but there were a lot of rewards otherwise,” she said.

She served 20 pastors in the Association most of the time.

“There was not one who was ugly to me,’ she said. “We all got along good. I moved with the Association when it moved from the Walton Mims building on the Square to the new building out here. Everyone has treated me nice.”

Mrs. Nicholson lives in the Pleasant Lane Community of Edgefield County and is the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Griffis. She has been a member of Berea Baptist Church for 70 years, where she has taught Sunday School and served as church clerk. She still serves as assistant teacher of the Adult Sunday School class.

Mrs. Nicholson proudly mentions that one son, Charles, serves as a deacon and the other son, Thomas, plays the piano at Berea. Her daughter, Jane Richardson, lives in North Augusta. All of Mrs. Nicholson’s children and most of her family, including her parents and her late husband Charlie, have served Berea church at one time or another.

A huge cake decorated the table Sunday with the words, “Congratulations to Anna Belle G. Nicholson for 20 years of service to the Edgefield Baptist Association.”

She was presented with a going-away gift of money from all the churches in the Association by the moderator of the Association, Lance Thomas, pastor of Republican Baptist Church.

“I’m a short-timer, myself,” said Rev. Thomas. “But we’re very appreciative of all the work she has done here. She carried us on one foot the last year because of all the problems she has had with her other foot. We’ll miss her.”