08/15/2026
"Ingathering Extraordinaire at Mt. Pleasant"
Annette Hale is a lean, mean, ingathering machine! She’s the main reason the Mount Pleasant, TX church raised almost $25,000 in 2025.
It all started back in 1956 at the Dennison, TX church when Annette was newly married. She began attending church with her husband Ed, who had recently returned to the Adventist faith. Ingathering was the thing to do then, and she began helping raise funds before she was even baptized. The ingathering bug bit her, and the rest is history.
Annette once found a dead man in Dennison after knocking on a door and getting no answer. The gentleman was sitting in a chair and never moved. She realized he had passed away and called the police. Thankfully, no such experience ever happened to her again.
The year 1957 found Annette in Chicago, IL, where her husband attended electrical school. She ingathered with the church there and described going into apartment buildings alone. She remembers the long hallways and uneasy feeling of knocking on every door by herself. But the residents were courteous, and God always kept her safe.
They returned to the Dennison church in 1958, then traveled for work for several years, and ultimately settled in Talco, TX in 1964. The family began attending the Mount Pleasant church where she became the Ingathering Director. Through her husband’s electric company, she became acquainted with many businesses in the area. In the 1970’s, she began fund-raising from them, in addition to friends and family.
Over the years, she has walked every block of Mount Pleasant, Daingerfield, and DeKalb, TX to raise money. Her five children participated also, going door-to-door with a singing band. Her favorite pastor to ingather with was Allen Priest. He was amazed how she would walk straight through a business to their office and talk directly with the owners.
Annette has gone to many homes with dogs in the yard. She always said a prayer, then talked to the dogs. She’s never once been chased or bitten.
On June 3, 2000, at the Keene Campmeeting, she received an ingathering award for her (then) 40+ years of service.
Annette turned 89 years old on July 28. David Barrett, our head deacon, now drives her around to all her contacts each December. She knows the people, and they trust her after all these years. She greets them, and David explains why we are raising funds for community service projects. Last year, he showed them pictures of our vision and dental clinics, and explained how these events benefit the citizens of Mt. Pleasant and the surrounding areas. Several donors contributed more after seeing pictures of how their money is used.
Annette is known for gifting homemade pecan brownies, pecan pie, and banana nut bread to her most generous donors. One of her long-time donors gives her $200 for a batch of brownies! She also gives away travel pillows with homemade pillow cases.
Annette expressed that helping other people gives you a good feeling. She recommends getting a jar and putting in $1 per week. You’ll have $52 to give by the end of the year. Or maybe just throw all your extra change in the jar instead. Approach your family, friends, and neighbors, and tell them how the church helps the local community with their donations.
Since 1956, she 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.”
Our ingathering total for 2025 was $24,975. Donations she solicited from her family, friends, and business contacts totaled $23,295. Had we realized this before the year-end deadline, we would have contributed the extra for an even $25,000!
Annette’s “git-r-done” attitude makes her a wildly fascinating, rare, and wonderful part of our church. We love her dearly and pray she’s able to serve the Lord for many more years to come.
Annette Hale has been ingathering since 1956—and nearly 70 years later, she’s still going strong. After settling in Mount Pleasant, Tex., she became the church’s ingathering director and spent decades building relationships with local business owners, friends, and community members while raising funds to support ministry.
Each December, Head Deacon David Barrett now drives Hale to visit her longtime contacts. Last year, he shared photos of the church’s vision and dental clinics so donors could see how their gifts were making a difference. Several increased their donations. Hale often adds a personal thank-you of her own, including homemade pecan brownies, pecan pie, banana nut bread, and handmade pillowcases.
In 2025, the Mount Pleasant Seventh-day Adventist Church raised $24,975 through ingathering. Hale was responsible for $23,295 of that total—more than 93 percent. Having missed only two years of ingathering since 1956, Hale plans to continue “as long as the Good Lord gives me strength to do it.”
