Jul 31, 2020 - John Kea received the Twelfth Annual History Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award from Dr. Stephen Carls in an outdoor ceremony at Union University's library on July 31, 2020. The department presents the award to a history alumnus/alumna who has excelled in his/her professional career and in service to the community. Kea is Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Southern Baptist Foundation in Nashville.
Kea has had a distinguished professional career highlighted by his commitment to Christian ministry and the practice of law. He graduated summa cum laude in 1991 from Union University where he was active in several student organizations, including Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. After graduating from the University of Tennessee’s School of Law with Honors in 1994, he was a partner at the law firm of Scott and Kea for several years, followed by a time as vice president and trust officer at Pinnacle Financial Partners/Cavalry Banking. From 2008 to 2012, Kea served with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in Belgium as a missionary-church planter in Brussels and Namur, and as the team leader for that country beginning in 2009. He has been with the Southern Baptist Foundation since 2012. He is on the National Board of Directors of the Christian Legal Society and, along with his family, a member of LifePoint Church in Murfreesboro.
John Kea (left) accepts the 2020 History Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award from Dr. Stephen Carls at Union University on July 31, 2020.
John Kea (center), the 2020 History Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award winner, stands with his wife Elizabeth and their son Noah at Union University on July 31, 2020.