The Carrier Mills-Stonefort High School held their annual Wall of Fame Ceremony on November 12. As part of the WOF Ceremony, a Distinguished Alumni was recognized. The 2019 Distinguished Alumni recipient was Reverend Doctor Clyde B. Akins, Sr. Rev. Dr. Akins was presented his Distinguished Alumni plaque by the CMSF Superintendent and High School Principal, Mr. Bryce K. Jerrell. He then went on to address the students, parents, teachers, and community members that were in attendance.
Rev. Dr. Akins was born in Bath Springs, Tennessee, on May 4, 1950 to Robert and Mary Lee Akins. Rev. Dr. Akins is the youngest of six children. He was raised in the church by a praying mother, graduated from the Carrier Mills-Stonefort High School in 1968, and he served in the United States Air Force from 1969-1973.
He graduated from the Defense Language Institute (Czechoslovakian Department, in Monterey, California) in 1971, from the University of Maryland (German Department, Rimbach, Germany) in 1972, and was honorably discharged from the Air Force as a multilingual interpreter. Rev. Dr. Akins taught foreign languages in the Military Intelligence Division of the US Army Reserves from 1973-1980. He has studied and taught the following languages: Czechoslovakian, Russian, Chinese Mandarin, German, French, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.
He graduated from Draughon’s Business College (Paducah, Kentucky) in 1976, and then in 1977 he was called to the ministry. He went on to graduate from Paducah Community College in 1978, he was licensed to preach and was ordained in 1980. He earned a Bachelor of Social Work Degree from the University of Kentucky in 1993 (graduating with honors), he earned his Master of Divinity from the Lexington Theological Seminary in 1996, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the Simmons Bible College in 1998, and he earned his Doctor of Ministry from the Lexington Theological Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky) in 2001.
Rev. Dr. Akins is married to Roszalyn Mack, and he is the father of four children; one son, CJ, and three daughters Alicia, Neesha, and CeKesha. In 1983 he became the pastor of First Baptist Bracktown Church in Lexington, Kentucky, where he started with a congregation of 65 members. To date, the church has over 1,000 active members.