Evangel grads Michael and Leah Neale celebrate his Dove Award for the 2012 Worship Song of the Year. Most young musicians dream of being able to record their own songs, even if they are only enjoyed by family and friends. But being a national-award-winning recording artist takes life to a whole new level.
“When your art has impacted a lot of people, it’s a very uplifting experience,” says Dove Award winner Michael Neale, a 1994 graduate of Evangel University.
In 2012 Neale and co-writer Krissy Nordhoff won the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award for Worship Song of the Year for their song “Your Great Name.”
Neale started writing songs at Evangel, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music, with an emphasis in vocal performance and composition.
“Evangel is a fantastic environment to spread your wings,” Neale says. “I am grateful they allowed me to learn and solidify my calling.”
As a student, Neale joined Evangel’s highly acclaimed music ensemble, Frontline. The group toured the country performing in youth conferences, churches and other venues.
Upon graduation, he moved to Nashville with fellow Frontline member Devin Webb. They soon signed a recording contract with Liquid Disc Records, and one year later they debuted as Neale & Webb with their first CD, At the Cross. The pair traveled together for five years.
“Songwriters are storytellers,” says Neale. “I’m really excited to teach the next generation about creating art and culture.”
In September 2012, Thomas-Nelson published his first novel, The River, a CBA best-selling book about a man struggling with memories from the past and a future that will force him to face those same memories.
Neale divides his time among leading worship in churches, writing, recording and being a featured teacher at conferences around the country.
In between his travels, he serves on the team of worship leaders at Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he lives with his wife and their three children.
— By Kelsey Reinhard, a senior journalism major from Quincy, Illinois
Author Steven Ochs will tell the fascinating tale of late Fairfield native Michael J. Daly - from his "hell-raising youth" to his heroics on the WWII battlefield to his tireless voluntarism at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport - at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2013, at the Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield. Ochs' talk is free and open to the public.
After returning from war, Daly was a longtime board member at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where he championed the cause of the indigent poor and terminally ill. He was posthumously awarded the first Fairfield Award from the Fairfield Museum and History Center for his life of service. The Museum is co-sponsoring his appearance at the Bookstore with the University’s MFA in Creative Writing Program and its Learning for a Lifetime Program.
Quibble Creek Health and Phoenix Transition Housing Centre is a partnership between the Province, the City of Surrey and Fraser Health Authority and contains 52 supportive housing units and 15 short-term transitional recovery beds. The building includes Fraser Health’s Recovery and Assessment Centre, with 25 beds for men and women requiring 24-hour recovery and assessment services, and a primary care, substance use and mental health clinic. 
