Wayne Bridegroom grew up on a farm milking cows in Central California and ended up as a Baptist pastor in Modesto where he experienced working with Laotian, Hmong, Cambodian, and Hispanic, peoples starting and pastoring churches in each of these nationalities as well as working with the African American churches -- all in the humble town of Modesto. In 2014, Wayne was awarded the Martin Luther King Legacy Award for his contribution to the African American community in Modesto — the first time the award was given to a white person.