ENCORE Ministry is blessed and thankful to have a diverse, committed, and experienced board. Below you find an overview of each member.
Career Highlights
- Retired, vice president of Bohan Advertising/Marketing
- Excommunicated, corporate vice president of communications of Gaylord Entertainment Company
- Still active as freelance travel and feature writer
- Author, “100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die”
- Accredited member, Public Relations Society of America
- Former assistant travel editor of Southern Living Magazine
- Former assistant news editor of The Birmingham News
- Member, Southeast Outdoor Press Association
Key Accomplishments
- Marco Polo member, Society of American Travel Writers
- Chairman, Southeast Tourism Society
- President, Public Relations Society of America, Nashville Chapter
- Member, executive board, Middle Tennessee Council, Boy Scouts of America
- Helped manage multiple communication programs for community-impactful corporate investments
- Helped manage several crisis communication situations
- Involved in various roles at West End United Methodist Church
Education
- Journalism graduate, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, master of history degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham
Career Highlights
- Associate pastor of Congregational Care, Jackson (Tennessee) First UMC
- Pastor for Byrdstown First UMC/Lovelady Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)/Livingston UM Fellowship
- Chaplain in residency, Saint Thomas Ascension Hospitals/Nashville Partnership (beginning January 2023)
Special Moments in Music and Mission Experiences
- Music ministry with sisters – Board of Evangelism, UM missions, Lake Junaluska Singers
- All Nations Mission Center/Bethany Home in Lexington, Kentucky – providing care, hospitality, and music for missionaries/pastors from Korea who came for spiritual renewal and retreat
- Music therapy presenter for International Conference for Association of Social Workers, Oncology and A.I.D.S., Vancouver, BC
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Music/Music Therapy, Arizona State University
- MA in Aging and Spirituality, Asbury Theological Seminary
Career Highlights
- Board of Commissioners — Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency
- Co-chair Affordable Housing Task Force NOAH (Nashvillians Organized for Action and Hope)
- Mayor's Affordable Housing Task Force — Metro Nashville
- Founding board member — Tennessee Affordable Housing Coalition
Key Accomplishments
- Lead housing affordability negotiator for community benefits agreements with developers
- Liaison between developer, housing voucher provider, and seniors with vouchers at apartments being torn down to prevent homelessness
- Housing policy advocate at local, state, and federal level. Current efforts resulted in a Metro Council special committee to broaden efforts for DADU/ADU (detached or attached dwelling units) for low to moderate income homeowners.
Education
- MSE and BSE, University of Central Arkansas
- Post grad studies in Nonprofit Management, Duke and Harvard
Career Highlights
- Worked in numerous nursing fields including psychiatric, medical surgery, intensive and coronary care, camp and school nursing, and hospital bill auditing
- Supervisor of Intensive and Coronary Care, Emergency Room, Outpatient Department, and Central Supply, Oak Park (Illinois) Hospital
- Head nurse, Medical Surgery Unit, University of Colorado Hospital, Denver
Key Accomplishments
- Developed, organized, and created a 501(c)3 ministry for widows and widowers called Wings of Hope Widowed Ministry. Wings of Hope assists widows in developing Wings of Hope chapters and assists churches in developing widowed persons ministries
- Harry Denman Award recipient
- Mother of the Year, DeSoto (Texas) Nazarene Church
- Texas Lifetime PTA Award
- Mother of two wonderful and successful children
Education
- B.S. in Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City
- Now in my late 70’s, I’ve spent a lifetime gaining wisdom, experience, and spiritual growth
Career Highlights
- Retired middle school teacher
- Retired board member, Paducah Middle School Parent/Teacher Site Base Committee
- Retired board chair, Marshall County Business/Professional Women’s Club
- Retired board chair, Western Kentucky United Methodist Family Services
- Retired president, Kentucky State Water Ski Federation
- Retired board chair, Reidland UMC Worship Committee
- Retired board chair, Reidland UMC preschool
- Retired member, legacy Memphis Conference Older Adult Council
- Retired member, Reidland UMC Staff-Parish Relations Committee
Key Accomplishments
- Co-founder, Reidland UMC OWLS older adult ministry
- Mercy Health Hospice volunteer
- Mercy Health Hospice Volunteer of the Year, 2021
- Support group leader, McCracken County Lourdes Alzheimer’s Support Group
- Support group leader, McCracken County Lourdes Caregivers Support Group
- Secretary, Reidland United Methodist Church Council
- Senior scorer and regular judge, USA Waterski Sports
Education
- B.A., summa cum laude, elementary education, Murray State University
- M.A. summa cum laude, elementary education (major) and language arts/literature (minor), Murray State University
Career Highlights
- Clergy member of the Tennessee and Tennessee–Western Kentucky Conference since 1972
- Served Bell Buckle Charge 1972-74, Belmont associate 1974-76, West Nashville 1976-83, Donelson Heights 1983-88, Madison St Clarksville 1988-92, Belmont 1992-2077
- Nashville district superintendent 2007-2013
- Executive assistant to the bishop 2013-15
- Acting director of Conference Connectional Ministries 2016
Key Accomplishments
- Trustee of Martin Methodist College 1984-92, 1996-2004
- Delegate to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference each quadrennium from 1984-2008
- Delegate to General Conference of UMC 2004, 2008
- Director of Church Relations, Martin Methodist College 2018-2020
- Associate pastor Belle Meade UMC 2020-2022
Education
- B.A. Carson-Newman College
- MDiv, Vanderbilt Divinity School
Career Highlights
- Volunteer Older Adult Coordinator at Germantown UMC for 22 years
- Welcome Wagon lady in Germantown
- Taught high school English and speech
Key Accomplishments
- Along with my husband of 56 years, raising three adult daughters who are successful in their careers and as mothers
- With the support of two committees, re-energizing a strong older adult ministry at Germantown UMC over 20 years ago
- Setting up a volunteer program at Germantown High School that impacted the attendance and guidance offices and facilitated better communication between the school and parents
Education
- BA in English from Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Career Highlights
- Program and Retreat director at Beersheba Springs Assembly
- Worked in local church youth ministry
- Board chair for the Grundy County Library
- Former Tennessee Conference Young Adult Representative
Key Accomplishments
- Two-time recipient of the Martin Serves Volunteer Award
- Served three years as adult co-chair to the Conference Council on Youth Ministry
Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Educational Ministries from University of Tennessee Southern, formally known as Martin Methodist College
- Master of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary through the Center for Youth Ministry Training Program
- Coursework in Camp and Retreat Ministry through Compass Points for Camp Leaders Certification
Career Highlights
- Current board member and treasurer for ENCORE Ministry
- Retired vice president of Finance for Gish, Sherwood & Friends advertising agency
- Former public accountant specializing in taxation, Frank Outhier CPA firm
Key Accomplishments
- Member and finance chair, New Chapel United Methodist Church
- Treasurer of United Women's Mission Group, New Chapel United Methodist Church
- Chair of United Women's Mission Group’s Fall Country Fair to raise money for people in need in our community
- Enjoy antiquing, gardening, traveling, spending time with family, and watching the Titans and pro tennis
Education
- BS in Accounting, Florida Atlantic University
Career Highlights
- Retired US Navy chief warrant officer
- Retired assistant executive director, Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability
- Retired vice president of Community Outreach, Signature HealthCARE
- Co-founder of Silver Angels, LLC
- Board chair, Fort Houston Artisan Support Project
- Board chair, ENCORE Ministry of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church
- Board member and president of the Tennessee Federation for the Aging
- Member of Healthy Nashville Leadership Council, Metro Dept. of Health
Key Accomplishments
- As ENCORE Ministry board chair and board member, Charles provides leadership and direction, planning advice, financial management, new program development, and historical perspective
- Works with a multidisciplinary advisory group to assess Davidson County’s health-care delivery system and establish strategic priorities for health system improvement
- Helped Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability launch statewide home and community-based services programs for vulnerable adults with financial limitations
- Helped Signature HealthCARE create a subsidiary providing in-home care services
Education
- Graduate of Vanderbilt University, with a BA in English literature/philosophy
Career Highlights
- I worked 40 years as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense. As a Certified Public Accountant, I worked with the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
- My wife and I have served for several years as leaders of St. Mark’s UMC (Murfreesboro) senior adult ministry
Key Accomplishments
Continued or established the following senior adult ministries at St. Mark’s UMC:
- Senior Adult Caring List. We maintain a listing of our senior adults who are either in care facilities or at home alone. The listing provides team members with a basis on which to keep track of those seniors who are in need of visitation and or phone contact.
- Senior Serenity Lunch. Each Christmas, we have a luncheon especially for our Caring List senior adults along with their family members. This is a special time for our seniors and their families to celebrate the Christmas season.
- Flower Repurposing. Each Monday, a member of our team prepares/repurposes flowers from the Sunday service and takes them to 2 to 3 senior adults on our Caring List. We have found that a visitor bearing flowers is great way to brighten one's day.
- Birthday Greetings. We send birthday greetings via cards to our seniors on our Caring List.
- 90th Birthday Celebration. We celebrate the 90th birthday of all senior members of our church. Prior to Covid, we had a churchwide celebration on Sunday, between services.
Education
- Graduated from Georgia Southwestern State University
Career Highlights
- Ordained elder and member of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky (TWK) Conference of The United Methodist Church
- Professor of Pastoral Theology, University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
- President of the United Methodist Foundation for the TWK Conference
- Adjunct faculty for Indiana University School of Philanthropy and the United Methodist Course of Study
Key Accomplishments
- Co-developed Ministry and Money: A Practical Guide for Pastors course and co-published a book by the same name with his wife, Janet
- Offer seminars to clergy and lay leaders regarding the critical nature of financial ministry
- Coauthor (with Janet) of 2012 and 2016 United Methodist Guidelines for Finance Committees
- Author of The Face of Forgiveness: A Pastoral Theology of Shame and Redemption
- Board member of the Foundation for Evangelism
- Consultant with pastors
Education
- Degrees from Taylor University, Asbury Theological Seminary, and Boston College
Career Highlights
- Registered nurse
- Diaconal minister of parish nursing
- Clinical nurse supervisor of medical-surgical nursing
- Clinical nurse educator
- Clinical chaplain
- Chairperson of Health and Wellness Initiatives
- Ordained deacon in full connection with the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference
- Board member of ENCORE Ministry
- Disaster case manager with Disaster Recovery Connection
- Interim lead pastor positions
- Archives and History Committee member
- Suicide prevention in the African American Faith Community Coalition
- Internship with Tennessee Justice Center
- Senior pastor Banks Chapel-St. John Charge
Key Accomplishments
- Serves on the Grants Committee, ENCORE Ministry
- Accepting my call to ministry and becoming an ordained deacon in full connection, 2003
- Recipient of 2005 Richard Allison Social Holiness Award
- Immediate past chairperson of Order of Deacons, Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference
- Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
- Women’s Leadership trip to Thailand
- Served congregations as associate and lead pastor through transition periods
- Elected clergy delegate to General Conference 2020
- Honored and blessed to have been my mother’s primary caregiver
Education
- Undergraduate degree in psychology from Dillard University, New Orleans
- Undergraduate degree in nursing from Tennessee State University
- Parish nurse training, Vanderbilt Center for Parish Nursing and Health Ministries
- Basic Graduate Theological Studies from United Theological Seminary
- Master of Divinity Degree with Central Theological Seminary
Career Highlights
- Ordained elder in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (transferred her membership to TWK Conference after moving to Nashville due to husband’s employment)
- Pastor of Congregational Care and Adult Discipleship at Bethlehem UMC, Franklin, Tennessee
Key Accomplishments
- Instrumental in starting a senior adult ministry at Smyrna First UMC
Education
- MDiv from Palmer Theological Seminary, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Career Highlights
- Secretary-treasurer and board member of the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association for 10 years
- Founded, in 1996, and continue to serve as president of Cherry Springs Nursery, Inc.
- Board chair, Hope Center of Warren County
- Former member of the Warren County Board of Education
- Former president of the Warren County Methodist Laity for 10 years
- Veteran of the US Navy — served in Vietnam with the US 7th fleet and the 3rd Marine Division
Key Accomplishments
- Served on the Building and Finance committees of Centertown UMC during the construction of a new church on a 17-acre campus with an approximate total cost of 1.75 million dollars
- Serving as lay leader of the Caney Fork River District of the TWK Conference of The United Methodist Church
- Serving as church lay leader for Centertown UMC
Education
- 1974 graduate of Tennessee Technological University with a degree in accounting
Career Highlights
- Chairman and co-founder, LBMC Financial Services
- Past board member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Past board member and president, Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants
- Past board member and finance committee chair, Nashville Symphony Orchestra
- Past chair of Brentwood United Methodist Church Foundation
Key Accomplishments
- Named Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today
- Certified Public Accountant
- Personal Financial Specialist
- Recipient of Tennessee Technological University Outstanding Business Leadership Award
- Recipient of Louis Johnson Award for Outstanding Alumnus
Education
- Tennessee Technological University, Accounting
Career Highlights
- Currently in the private practice of law in Brentwood and Sewanee, Tennessee
- Tennessee Supreme Court, practice before all Tennessee state courts
- S. Supreme Court; Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals; United States District Courts for the Western, Middle, and Eastern districts of Tennessee
- Retired from the State of Tennessee after working with the Tennessee Court of Appeals, the Tennessee General Assembly, the Attorney General of Tennessee and as General Counsel to the Tennessee Department of Health
- Lead counsel in civil cases regulating non-profit entities, including
- Memphis Publishing Company v. Cherokee Children & Family Services, Inc., 87 S.W.3d 67 (Tenn. 2002) (Cherokee I, public benefit corporation may be subject to the Public Records Act).
- Summers v. Cherokee Children & Family Services, Inc., 112 S.W.3d 486 (Tenn.App. 2002), t.a. denied, (Tenn. 2002) (Cherokee II, standards for non-profit governance).
- Summers v. Estate of Ford, 146 S.W.3d 541 (Tenn.App. 2004), no p.t.a. (disposition of non-profit assets).
- Former Adjunct Lecturer of Law, Belmont University Law School
Education
- Studied, non-profit administration, Tennessee State University, College of Public Service
- Studied, Corruption Control and Organizational Integrity, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- J.D. Vanderbilt University School of Law
- B.A., cum laude, Vanderbilt University, double major in economics and English
Career Highlights
- Retired US Air Force colonel
- Retired director of Construction Management, State of Tennessee
- Founding president & CEO, CD Steger Construction, Inc.
- President, Tennessee Conference United Methodist Men
- President, Society of American Military Engineers
- Former board member, Society of Saint Andrew
- Fellow of the Society of John Wesley
- Lay leader, Red River District
- Church Council chair, Gordon Memorial UMC
Key Accomplishments
- Board Member of Grants Committee funding much-needed programmatic and facility improvements throughout the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference
- Gordon Memorial UMC Habitat for Humanity coordinator for over 22 years, providing affordable housing in the Nashville area
- Assisted in the distribution of over 85,000 pounds of fresh vegetables in the Nashville area over the last year
Education
- BS: Civil Engineering, Tennessee State University
- MBA: Master’s in Business Management, Pepperdine University
Career Highlights
- Served for 35 years as professor and dean at seminaries and church-related colleges. Taught ministry with, to, and by older adults.
- Director of Turner Center for Church Leadership
- Ordained elder in The United Methodist Church; last full-time appointment, First UMC, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee
- Variety of interim and part-time appointments in former Northern New Jersey Conference, North Georgia Conference, Western North Carolina Conference, former West Michigan Conference, East Ohio Conference, and former Tennessee Conference
Key Accomplishments
- Author of books and countless articles including chapters in Gerontology in Theological Education: Local Program Development; editors, Barbara Payne and Earl D. C. Brewer
- Founding member of MYRide Lawrence
- Board of Advisors member of Lawrence County Health Council
Education
- BA from West Virginia Wesleyan College
- MA in Christian Education and M. Div. from Methodist Theological School in Ohio
- ED D, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Post-doctoral work in Gerontology, Georgia State
Career Highlights
- Office manager for a CPA firm in Paducah, Kentucky
- Employed at the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry in Nashville for 34 years
- UM Student Loans administrator for 33 years – worked with students, pastors, and campus ministers across the Church
- Approved more than 55,000 UM student loans (funds came from UM Student Sunday offerings) for qualified undergraduate and graduate students in colleges, universities, and seminaries across the United States
Key Accomplishments
- At retirement, my prayer was to be able to volunteer at every opportunity
- In addition to my church/conference obligations, I have volunteered for places such as the Homebound Meals Program Board of Hendersonville for 11 years and Nashville Talking Library — recording books, stories, and articles for persons who are blind or unable to hold a book — for 16 years
- Volunteering in the senior living community where I live
Education
- Business school prepared me for working in businesses and nonprofits