The Idea of The Sower

For many years, Alex Palkovich and Leonard Caudill (church member) worked together at GE Medical Systems in Florence. Knowing Alex’s talent for sculpting, Len and Ryan Caudill, of our staff,  dreamed of Alex doing a project for the church. The occasion of the 50th Anniversary presented such an opportunity. The idea of the Sower was an effort to identify a biblical figure that most represented the church’s history and that would also challenge the church to remain focused on its mission. 

Over these 50 years, we have had the privilege to sow the gospel in our city, state, country and throughout the world. Have you given a gospel tract, shared the plan of salvation or given your testimony? Have you brought someone to church, taught a Sunday School class, served in one of our church’s ministries or shared the gospel with an unsaved person? In these ways and many others, you have been a sower of the gospel!

The Sower figure is to cause us to remember our gospel-sowing heritage and to recognize that we are part of the Lord’s larger plan. It is to challenge future generations to be involved in God’s work with growing fervency and dedication – until Jesus returns!

We are not just building a memorial for the past, but rather casting a vision for the future. There are more lost souls in the Pee Dee area today than when the church began in 1969. The Sower represents the future more than it does the past. 

Thank you to everyone who has given so that The Sower could become a reality on our campus.


Bill Monroe

Alex Palkovich

Alex Palkovich was born in the trans-Carpathian Mountains in 1948 and grew up in Uzhhorod. In his lifetime the city has been part of 4 different countries (Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union & Ukraine). During WWII, Alex’s parents, Marcus and Fannie were taken by the Nazis to concentration camps in Mauthausen and Auschwitz. They both survived and were married in 1946. 


Alex received a scholarship to attend the Lviv Polytechnic National University in Poland where he earned his Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering. In 1973, he and his family immigrated to Israel. With his degree in engineering he easily landed a job with a company that designed and manufactured advanced medical equipment. The company, Magnex, was eventually acquired by General Electric. Over the following years, Alex worked as General Electric’s Global Manager for Medical Systems, overseeing plants worldwide in 8 locations including Florence, South Carolina. He and his family relocated to Florence until his retirement from GE in 2015.  


His passion for sculpting began when as a six-year old boy, he was given a box of modeling clay. Art still captures the imagination of the man now 72-years-old. Alex is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, the Oxford Art Society, and the National Sculpture Society. He has won numerous awards including a British Design Award, an award from the American Institute of Commemorative Art, a People’s Choice Award from the National Sculpture Society, the Allied Artists of America, and the Portrait Society of America. 


Alex has become a friend of our Pastor and church. He has made a beautiful and lasting impact with several projects throughout Florence County.  Florence Baptist Temple is honored to contribute to this collection and have Alex Palkovich commemorate its 50th Anniversary by sculpting “The Sower.”