PAYH Wins First Prize in Spartan Race

On March 10th the Paul Anderson Youth Home (PAYH) won first place out of over 5000 competitors in the Spartan Race in Conyers, Georgia. PAYH young men: Chad, David, Dillon, and Sam, as well as Brooks Sullards (alumnus (’90) and staff member) competed as a team and won first place out of 243 teams. Only 3364 individuals finished the race.
In 1961, God led Paul and his wife Glenda to establish the PAYH in Vidalia, Georgia, a Christian residential alternative to juvenile and adult correctional programs for sixteen to twenty-one old young men. Paul was the ’56 gold medal winner in the heavyweight lifting division and “the World’s Strongest Man, (lifted 6270 pounds in a back lift). The Anderson’s desired to provide a home where God would transform broken teenagers and support parents in crisis. For 51 years the PAYH has brought help, hope, and “the lift of a lifetime to over 1200 young men and their families and continues to track trends in youth culture and discover fresh parenting strateg

Brooks Sullards (PAYH Staff member and alumni)

ies to help stressed and hurting families. (www.payh.org) The PAYH then shares these discoveries and insights with thousands of families across America. (www.familyStrong.com)
Brooks Sullards stated: “For the last three years, we have wanted to compete in this race. Our young men and I trained for ten weeks prior to the race at a minimum of four workouts each week. Competing was a reward for those who were selected because of their excellent efforts in our physical education program in which we had been incorporating Crossfit training for the previous six months. This was a very challenging experience for us: the harder we pushed to excel, the harder the race became. The boys and I were beside ourselves with excitement when we heard we placed first.

Dillon (PAYH young man and member of 1st place winning team)

The Paul Anderson Youth Home staff and young men participate in these types of activities to build confidence and teamwork as well as develop resilience, decision- making skills, and ability to laugh in the face of adversity.
PAYH understands that America stands at a crucial moment in her history. Despite her strong foundation, she is clearly in a decline. The tipping point? The state of her youth: the nation’s future husbands, wives, parents, workers, and leaders. Glenda Anderson Leonard, Co-Founder and President of the PAYH poses this question: “Will you join as us as God uses the PAYH to transform one young man and one family at a time?