About
Craig Claybrook

Craig Claybrook as Thomas Jefferson
Aptitude for Memorization
  • Memorized six clarinet solos for music contests while growing up
  • Has memorized numerous Scripture verses, plus entire chapters of the Bible
  • As a freelance wedding officiant, he memorized three wedding ceremonies and each contained four pages of script
  • Memorized the Declaration of Independence in one hundred days ('16)
Adroit as a Performer
  • Achieved 1st Place among 400 woodwind soloists as a 7th grader; chosen first chair of seven bands: junior high band, high school band at end of 8th grade, All-District Band as a 9th grader; three bands at summer band camp in Aurora, Colorado, and his college band; he was also highly ranked in All-State Bands; from Wewoka, OK ('58-69)
  • Hired as a professional water-skier in the Tommy Bartlett Water Ski Show, Wisconsin Dells ('68); Ozark Water Ski Thrill Show, Osage Beach, MO ('69); Sea World, Aurora, OH, where, among other things, he was featured for his backwards barefoot skiing and was known as the "best clown" ('75)
  • Officiated hundreds upon hundreds of weddings, mostly in the Dallas area ('99-14)
  • At age 74, he was filmed reciting the Declaration of Independence in a studio for the Freedom Encounter organization and its show Freedom Journey in Branson, MO ('22)
  • Note: His water-skiing began as a 12-year old when his dad won a boat, motor, and trailer
Accomplished as a Writer/Editor
  • Wrote two editorials for college newspaper, Central State College, OK ('67)
  • Edited the 4-page Texas insert for Focus on the Family's Citizen Magazine at Richard Ford Associates, Dallas, TX ('89-90)
  • Edited ninety-nine Counseling Keys at Hope for the Heart radio ministry, Dallas ('91-92)
  • Featured in The Dallas Morning News with two editorials ('95)
  • Ghostwrote the book, The Ultimate Gift about a national phenomenon that erupted when a couple rented two billboards in hopes of adopting a child; as a freelance editor, he edited nine books ('95-14)
  • Co-edited Incidents of the U.S. Christian Commission, a major Christian book that came out of the Civil War about the Union Army, published in 1869, retitled Triumph Amidst Bloodshed—Civil War Soldiers' Spiritual Victories, published by Primedia eLaunch ('12)
  • Published one article in The Baptist Standard ('19), later footnoted in David Jeremiah's Turning Point Magazine, plus another Standard article in their now-discontinued sister magazine, CommonCall ('22)
Adept as a Public Speaker
  • Started out as a fledgling speaker with Campus Crusade for Christ, now Cru ('70-74)
  • Addressed 700 college students on New Year's Eve and was told by many that his humor "brought the house down" ('71)
  • Was known in the Dallas area as the "freelance minister who does weddings by memory" ('99-14); officiated funerals for some of those years and beyond
  • Served as a bi-vocational minister of a congregation at a retirement home ('09-14)
  • Has recited the Declaration of Independence for organizations and churches since 2016
Acknowledged as a Leader
  • Selected as Drum Major of his high school band ('64) and four years at Central State College, now Central State University in Edmond, OK ('65-69)
  • Served as student leader of Campus Crusade for Christ in college; was told by a traveling singing group that it was "the best organized concert we have ever done," then as a staff member, he served as Campus Coordinator, Sacramento, CA; as Area Administrator for Northern California, Hawaii, and Reno; and as Campus Director at SMU, Dallas (’70-74)
  • Owned and operated a lawn maintenance business, starting with $10 and borrowed equipment, employed as many as six employees, recognized as one of top five lawn companies in Plano, TX, ('80-85)
  • Selected as Dallas Walk Chairman for the Kent Hance gubernatorial campaign, recruiting and directing 130 volunteers ('89-90)
  • Organized Patriotic Sunday, a voter registration drive for Dallas area churches, capitalizing on July Fourth; covered by The Dallas Morning News ('94)
  • Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as the census-taker who had "the highest production for Dallas, Tarrant, and Denton Counties" ('00)
  • Assistant Pastor/Pastor of Lakeview Congregation, located at a retirement home, Dallas ('09-14)
  • Note: A reporter for The Dallas Morning News called him a "Renaisance Man." He calls himself "ADD."