2023 Friend of the Year

Landon Saunders has been president of Heartbeat, Inc. since 1971. Saunders first launched Heartbeat as a pilot of Herald of Truth Ministries, and in its early days, it was based in Abilene, Texas. Saunders subsequently relocated the headquarters to Houston and then to New York City, where for many years he hosted the Heartbeat radio program, which was heard by millions worldwide on the NBC, CBS, and Armed Forces radio networks.

A native of West Virginia, Saunders served as a minister in Churches of Christ in Arkansas and Tennessee before moving to Abilene in 1971. For several years, he was the minister at the Minter Lane Church of Christ in Abilene. Today, he is a resident of Norwich, Vermont, and in addition to being a frequent lecturer at churches and universities, he also serves on the board of the Yale University Center for Faith and Culture and as a Fellow of Caris Life Sciences Foundation.