Annette Hale is a lean, mean ingathering machine! She’s the main reason the Mount Pleasant, Texas, Seventh-day Adventist Church raised almost $25,000 in 2025.
It all started back in 1956 at the Adventist church in Denison, Texas, when Hale was newly married. She began attending church with her husband, Ed, who had recently returned to the Adventist faith. Since ingathering was the thing to do then, she began helping to raise funds before she was even baptized. The ingathering bug bit her, and the rest is history.
A memorable experience for Hale in the Denison area was noticing a gentleman who was sitting in his chair and not moving, even after she knocked on his door. Wondering if he had passed away, she called the police. Unfortunately, they confirmed her suspicions. Thankfully, no such experience ever happened to her again.
In 1957, Hale lived in Chicago, Illinois, where her husband attended electrical school. She continued to ingather there and described going into apartment buildings alone. She remembers long hallways and the uneasy feeling of knocking on every door by herself. Fortunately, the residents were courteous, and God always kept her safe.
The Hales returned to the Denison area in 1958 and traveled for work for several years. They ultimately settled in Talco, Texas, in 1964. The family began attending the Mount Pleasant church, where she became the ingathering director. She became acquainted with many businesses in the area through her husband’s electric company, and in the 1970s, she began fundraising from them, as well as from friends and family.
Over the years, she has walked every block of the cities of Mount Pleasant, Daingerfield, and De Kalb to raise money. Her five children also participated, going from door to door with a singing band. Some of her favorite memories include ingathering with Allen Priest, a pastor who was amazed how she would walk straight into a business, find the office, and talk directly with its owners.
Hale has gone to many homes with dogs in the yard, but she’s never been chased or bitten. She always said a prayer, then talked to the dogs.
At the Keene Camp Meeting on June 3, 2000, she received an ingathering award for what was then 40-plus years of service.
Hale turned 89 years old on July 28, 2026. David Barrett, head deacon of the Mount Pleasant church, now drives her every December to visit all of her contacts. She knows the people, and they trust her after so many years. She greets them, and Barrett explains why we are raising funds for community service projects. Last year, he showed pictures of our vision and dental clinics, and he explained how these events benefit the citizens of Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas. Several donors contributed more after seeing pictures of how their money is used.
Hale is known for gifting homemade pecan brownies, pecan pie, and banana nut bread to her most generous donors. One of her longtime donors gives her $200 for a batch of brownies! She also gives away travel pillows with homemade pillowcases.
Helping other people gives you a good feeling, Hale shared. She recommends getting a jar and throwing all of your extra change into it. Or, if you like to follow a routine, she says that by putting just $1 each week into the jar, you’ll have $52 to give by the end of the year. Another option is to approach your family, friends, and neighbors and tell them how the church helps the local community through its donations.
Since 1956, Hale has missed only two years of ingathering. She said God gave her the talent to meet and talk to people, and He goes before her to inspire them to donate. After nearly 70 years of raising funds, she is still going strong and plans to keep on “as long as the good Lord gives me strength to do it.”
Donations Hale solicited from her family, friends, and business contacts totaled $23,295 in 2025, and her congregation’s ingathering total for the year was $24,975. Her fellow church members said that if they had realized this before the year-end deadline, they would have contributed the extra needed to reach an even $25,000!
“We are grateful for Ms. Hale’s unwavering faith in God, which has enabled the church to fund service opportunities for the community,” shared Edwin Ledezma, pastor of the Cooper, Mount Pleasant, and Paris Seventh-day Adventist churches. “Her dedication to God and others is truly appreciated.”
Hale’s “git-r-done” attitude makes her a wildly fascinating, rare, and wonderful part of our community. We love her dearly and pray she’s able to serve the Lord for many more years to come.
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By Julie Smith, a long-time member of the Mount Pleasant Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mount Pleasant, Texas.
