Brad and Joy have lived in Granbury since his retirement from the service in ’94. Brad has been the DoM since the annual meeting in ’96.

Brad and Joy grew up in Cleburne. They met at College Heights Baptist Church where their dads were both deacons. After graduation from Cleburne High school, they both attended Howard Payne (when it was a College!). They married in ’64. Brad graduated in ’65 and Joy in ’66. They have two grown sons. Shane is a career Air Force officer, an Air Force Academy graduate and F-16 pilot. He is married to the daughter of a minister. Brandon is a graduate of the Art Institute of Dallas and he is a computer animation graphic artist and works for Blur Studio in Los Angeles. He (and his team) were recently nominated for an Academy Award.

Before coming to Paluxy Baptist Association, Brad had spent 25 years as a “Home Missionary” endorsed by the North American Mission Board as a career Air Force chaplain. When they retired from the US Air Force, the Rizas began to count the number of states they had lived in or traveled through in their military career and discovered that they had been in every state except Idaho and Rhode Island! In addition, they lived in England for three years and traveled extensively on the continent – even had the opportunity to go to the Holy Land a couple of times! They also lived in Korea for two years and Brad spent a year in Viet Nam during the war.

                    Joy is a teacher and has taught in several of Brad’s military assignments – teaching in an international school in Seoul, Korea and in a Department of Defense Dependent School in England. While Brad was assigned at the Air Force Academy, Joy went back to school at the University of Colorado and earned a Masters Degree in Elementary Education. 

In addition to his Association work, Brad is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor. In his “spare” time, Brad runs the Brazos River Community Counseling Service. He is also doing some consulting with a large Texas-based business in the area of leadership and management.
He and Joy are very involved in teaching and doing training in several marriage enrichment and marriage communication programs. They regularly do workshops in the surrounding area as well as in various locations like Glorieta and Hot Springs, Arkansas for Lifeway (the old Sunday School Board). Brad has, according to Joy, too many expensive hobbies. He loves photography and has had some of his pictures published. He loves cars (fast ones) and music. They enjoy boating and fishing and both still water ski! Brad also builds and flys radio controlled model airplanes. Joy loves reading and all kinds of needlecraft. She often has a hooked rug in progress. She is seldom happier than when she is working in the yard, tending her flowers or trimming on her Bonsai trees.

Brad often says that they have a “full and wonderful life”!

Janie Walker Office Administrator