National Winners of Longest Married Couple Project Announced by Worldwide Marriage Encounter
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2011 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Worldwide Marriage Encounter, the original faith based marriage enrichment program in the United States, announces the winner of the Longest Married Couple Project to be Marshall and Winnie Kuykendall of Lordsburg, NM. They will be married 82 years on Feb. 14, 2011.
The 50 state winners as a result of the project will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 8th. There were 312 nominations received from all states.
"What a privilege and honor it is to recognize the Kuykendalls for their commitment to marriage," said Scott and Karen Seaborn, the United States Ecclesial Team for WWME. "We look forward to personally recognizing them on Feb. 12th in their hometown of Lordsburg," they added. The Seaborns serve with Fr. Tom Griffith, SVD, as the U.S. leadership for the marriage enrichment movement.
The Kuykendalls were married Feb. 14, 1929. Originally from Arizona they eloped to get married five months after meeting each other.
The New Mexico couple achieved the honor of being the Longest Married Couple based on the over 300 nominations submitted to Worldwide Marriage Encounter beginning in October of last year. It should be noted that a couple from North Carolina who are married longer (86 years) were also nominated, but they and their family chose to graciously pass the honor onto the Kuykendalls.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter undertook the project to highlight marriage in America and to show young couples that marriage really can go the distance. "What an inspiration Mr. & Mrs. Kuykendall are to all of us. They made a commitment to each other 82 years ago and they have kept that commitment over these many years. They truly are a sign of hope to us all," the Seaborns said.
The New Mexico winners have a daughter who is married 56 years, and two grandchildren.
The presentation of gifts and acknowledgements to the Kuykendalls will be made at noon Feb. 12th at the Hampton Inn in Lordsburg.
The individual state winners will also receive special certificates of achievement and other gifts from the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement over the Valentine's weekend. The state winners will also be presented their certificates and recognitions by Worldwide Marriage Encounter couples.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter has been offering weekend experiences for over 42 years and is considered the original faith-based marriage enrichment program. The programs are continually updated to keep abreast of changes in society, and WWME now offers evening and half-day programs that are presented at parishes and other church facilities. The weekend program, traditionally presented as an overnight experience at a hotel or retreat center, can also be presented at the parish where the couples return to their homes in the evenings. WWME has a presence in over 90 countries, which makes it the largest pro-marriage movement in the world. In North America, the WWME programs are presented in English, Spanish, French, and Korean languages.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers married couples the opportunity to spend time together away from the busyness of the world to focus on each other. It offers tools for building and maintaining a strong, Christian marriage in today's world. To learn more about the Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends online, go to wwme.org, or you can call 1-800-795-LOVE (English) and 1-800-599-AMOR (Spanish), or contact the WWME Office at (909) 863-9963.
