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I Cor. 10:31b "Whatsoever you do, do it all to the glory of God"
It all started in 1960 when Kenneth Pepperdene, who then directed the Hancock County American Red Cross, asked Ann Porter to attend the National Red Cross Aquatic School at Paul B. Johnston State Park in Hattiesburg to obtain a water safety instruction certification, better known as WSI.
She did, and the following year returned to take a course in competitive swimming. Having done this, she prevailed upon the city of Bay St. Louis to build a "T" shaped dock to teach swimming lessons to the children of Bay St. Louis.
The children were registered into the program in April of 1962. The program rapidly grew and was operated entirely by volunteers in assembly-line fashion.
The beginners skills wrere broken up into 10 stations having three or four skills taught at each station. The classes were from 9-12 for a two-week period, and by 1963 there were some 350 to 400 children registered into the program.
In 1964 Ed and Ann Porter
built a pool at their home on 109 St. Charles St. and opened South Bay Sw'im Club, sold family memberships and started the Bay St. Louis Swim Team.
Joined by her good friend Virginia Wagner, the two coached some 35 swimmers. They traveled and competed against swim teams in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Winning their Regional Meet in 1966 by beating a Picayune swim team, several of their swimmers qualified for the Mississippi-Louisiana All-star Meet in Alexandra, La. that year.
Moving to Mobile in 1975 Ann taught swimming at Chandler Branch YMCA and was a part of the aquatic staff there. While teaching there she was asked to join the Masters Swim Team. This is a national program that includes swimmers 25 years of age and older. Ann was 54 when she began swimming competitively.
What an opportunity this was for her to go as an ambassador for Jesus Christ and share her faith with other swimmers. She attended meets in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas
and Utah.
Bringing home medals and ribbons from each meet, she gives God the glory for all He has done through her.
Some of her accomplishments are:
1984	- Swimming in the 50-54 age group: first place in Pensacola Bay open water swim, 3.5 miles
1985	- Pensacola Bay Swim, second place, 3.5 miles
1986	- National Masters Short Course Meet, Ft. Pierce, Fla., six ribbons (forth-eighth place)
1987	- National Long Course Meet-Woodland, Texas: third place medal on 200 freestyle, five ribbons fourth to eighth place
1988	- Swam Bay of St. Louis in 1 hour 50 min. two miles, win in honor of her 60th birthday
1988 - New Orleans Worlds Fair Long Course Meet: five medals
1993 - (60-65 age group) World Senior Games in St. George, Utah: three third place medals; 14 foreign countries represented there
January 11, 1994 - Heart attack and four-bypass surgery. In hospital one week - no per-
manent damage to heart.
October of 1994 - (60-65 age group) Hight Point Trophy (10 months following heart surgery)
May of 1995 - National Senior Olympics Long Course in San Antonio, Texas. Did not medal, but qualified and got to swim.
The National Senior Olympics are held every two years - the alternate year is a qualifying year, which in 1997 was in Phoenix, Arizona; 1999 in Orlando, Fla., a bit too far and expensive to travel.
The 2000 Alabama Senior Olympics - Montgomery, Ala. May 6th - qualifying meet for Nationals in Baton Rouge, La. (May 2001) She qualified winning four gold and a silver in the 70-75 age group.
Basically she is a long-dis-tance swimmer, swimming freestyle and backstroke. Her best events are the 200 free and 500 free.
At 72 her times remain consistent. The swimming she does is all for God?s glory. He gets the glory and allows her to wear the medals. With God?s strength and the prayers of His people_ you will see her swimming in Baton Rouge next May.