Friday March 5, 2010
AFA Founder Donald Wildmon Steps Down
By Kathleen Gilbert
TUPELO, Mississippi, March 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Donald E. Wildmon, the chairman of the American Family Association (AFA) for more than 30 years, has resigned as chairman of the board, the organization announced this week.
According to the AFA statement, Wildmon, 72, has stepped down following several months of illness following a mosquito bite that transferred the St. Louis enchephalitis virus. Encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, can range from mild to severe symptoms including confusion, seizures, and hallucinations. The AFA said Wildmon has spent 121 days in the hospital and rehab from August to November 2009, both for the encephalitis and to undergo surgery for cancer on his left eye.
The retired United Methodist minister began AFA in 1977 in his dining room with a typewriter and a used offset press. Today the ministry operates on a $20 million annual budget with 175 employees. The ministry owns and operates 180 radio stations, a monthly magazine with a circulation of 170,000 and an internet presence of 2.5 million supporters.
Wildmon said he will continue at the AFA, but will not have a leadership role; his son Tim, who has been with AFA for 24 years, is expected to lead the ministry. The founder also said he will also continue working on a national scale with other pro-family ministries.