Christ Episcopal Church

April 22, 2008

VESTRY NOMINEE BIOS

Penny Ellis | Sally Savage | Charles W. Star | Kimberly Scoggin | Emilie Henderson | Lisa Geary | Suzanne Duggan

Penny Ellis

I have been a communicant of Christ Episcopal Church since 1999 when my husband, Addison, and I came home after retirement ­ 32 years spent in the Midwest. I was a barebones Protestant until I was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 1962, St Georges in New Orleans. I was licensed in 1977 as a Lay reader and Chalice Bearer (now known as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, LEM). I have served in the past as a Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher and Sunday School superintendent throughout a 30­year period. I have been a delegate to Diocesan conventions and served as president of church guilds and even served a brief stint on an Altar Guild.

In Covington, at Christ Church, I have served as: president of the ECW for two years; LEM for six years; vacation Bible school teacher; Sunday mornings with the pre­kindergarten children; completed the four­year EFM program; greeted with the Newcomers' Committee. I currently serve on the Funeral and Caring Committees.

I hold a BA in Journalism and have worked: as a newspaper reporter; a copywriter of radio commercials and print advertisements; co­authored "The History of Osteopathic Medicine in the Mountains" and written two unpublished novels. As a Public Relations account executive I have been a: lobbyist; newsletter editor for the gas industry and hospital and banking associations and state and local chambers of commerce. I have been active in political campaigns and received regional and national awards for: magazine editing, speech writing and public relations campaigns.

Addison and I have been married 49 years, as of this past January. We have three wonderful children and I have been a Cub Scout and Brownie leader: a Home Room Mother (numerous times); a PTA member and officer; a worrier and a constant prayer. God has been good and blessed me grandly.

I have agreed to allow my name to stand for the Christ Church Vestry because the community of Church has always been the most important part of my adult life. God was and is constant with me, and Jesus Christ has been my friend, and my confidante, truly my Savior. If I can assist Christ Church in its growth, its community involvement and, most importantly, its ministry of strengthening our faith through joyous and loving worship and other services, I will respond to God's call.

Sally Savage

My name is Sally Savage. My husband, Steve, and my daughter Sarah, and I have been attending Christ Church since 1992 when we moved here from Los Ange­les. When we finally found Christ Church we knew it was the Church for us. We im­mediately had Sarah baptized and began teaching Sunday School. Steve went on the become head of the usher teams and I continued to teach Sunday school for the next 9 years. It was a learning experience for us all. I learned much about the Church Community and the Christian life. In 1997 I was looking for a new job, something that would give my life purpose, and LaVondra Dobbs suggested I come work for the Church. I did and in December I became the Youth Group coordinator. Later I be­came the coordinator of Adult Christian Formation. I worked with Father John and Mother Pamela for six years. It was a life changing experience. Through that experi­ence I became a better Christian and realized how much work it takes to keep Christ Church growing and moving forward. Prior to working for the Church I worked in the banking industry for 20 years and now work for the Clerk of Court. Now that Sarah is in college, I find I have more time and hope to use some of the time giving back to the community that has given me so much.

Charles W. Stahr P.E.

Charlie Stahr has been a member of Christ Episcopal for ten years and an Episcopalian for almost thirty­five years. He is a regular 7:30 a.m. service usher. Charlie has contributed to parish manage­ment at other churches where the Stahr family has worshiped. Notable assignments have included, Every Member Canvas Chair at Trinity Episcopal, Toledo, OH, Treasurer and Senior Warden at St. Barnabas (mission) Tomahawk, WI and Rector Search Committee at St. John the Baptist, Wausau, WI.

Charlie and his wife Beth have two grown children, Margaret and Andrew. Beth is Associate Profes­sor at Southeastern Louisiana University and is currently serving as Interim Head of the Library Ref­erence Department. Margaret will be Assistant Professor of English and Writing Center Director at Catawba University in Salisbury, NC this fall. Her husband Jason Chan is a pediatrician. Drew is a Mechanical Engineer at Harley­Davidson in Milwaukee, WI.

Charlie has degrees from Miami University, Oxford, OH and Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. During his thirty year professional career in the pulp and paper industry, he served in Engineering, Environmental Affairs, Manufacturing and General Management positions. He retired from Temple­Inland Inc., Bogalusa, LA in 2003. Charlie currently serves as a consulting Environmental Engineer at the Metairie office of URS Corporation, a multi­national consulting, engineering and construction company.

Charlie’s personal statement concerning service on the Christ Episcopal Vestry follows. For ten years Beth and I have appreciated the opportunity to worship at Christ Church. I am particularly thankful for the opportunity to regularly think and pray in peace and receive counsel from a perspec­tive different than my own. We place particularly high value on the fellowship and friendships that Christ Church has enabled us to develop.

I view the opportunity to serve on the Christ Church vestry as an opportunity to give something back through the leadership, management and technical expertise I have been fortunate to acquire. I appreciate your consideration for this office.

Kimberly Scoggin

I was born and raised in Abbeville, LA where I attended Catholic school from K thru 12th grade. I attended Nicholls State University and after graduating moved to New Orleans. Several years later I met Skip, my husband through mutual friends. We married in 1995 and I moved to Mandeville.

Skip already being an active member of Christ Church Covington is what led me here. I officially converted to the Episcopal religion in 1996 when Father Rod Wiltse was the interim. Over the years I have been a Sunday school leader, worked in the children’s library and helped with providing meals to the Caritas preschoolers. Especially close to my heart is the Caring Ministry where I have been an active team leader since 1997.

I have 2 daughters, Lillian Beatrice “Lily Bea” 8 years old and Mary Frances who is 6 years old. Both attend Christ Episcopal School.

My hobbies are swimming and jazzercise. I also love bike riding and rollerblad­ing with my family. I’m honored and excited to have been nominated for the Ves­try and if chosen I’m sure it will be rewarding and fun.

Emilie Henderson

I have been married to my husband Jon for twelve years and we have a six year old daughter, Felice who is in Kindergarten at Christ Episcopal School. I have been a member of Christ Church for six years and am a lifelong Episcopalian. I am currently the Habitat for Humanity volunteer liaison for the Outreach Com­mittee and in the past have served as a volunteer receptionist and a fill in recep­tionist for Christ Church. I have also assisted with Vacation Bible School.

Outside of church I try to be as involved as possible with Christ Episcopal School and my daughter’s Kindergarten class and I am employed part­time at Starbucks in Covington. I would like to serve on the vestry because I feel this is an exciting, challenging time for Christ Church and I feel I can represent the needs of the church and its’ parishioners during this time.

Lisa Geary

I was born and raised in the New Orleans metropolitan area. I spent my childhood as a Presby­terian, but became intrigued by the Episcopal Church when I left the public school system to attend high school at St. Martin’s. The caring priests, Socratic religious instruction, and Eucharistic celebrations made a lasting impression. I obtained a degree in Finance from Ole Miss, and a law degree from L.S.U. There I was extremely fortunate to recognize Cove as the man with whom I would share the rest of my life, and we are celebrating twenty years of marriage this April. We spent our early years living in the French Quarter, but could not quite bring ourselves to raise children there, and moved to Lewisburg in 1991, where our first child was born. We now have Claire, age 16, Caroline, age 14, and Cove, age 9 in our family.

We visited several churches upon moving to the north shore, but only Christ Episcopal felt like home. We have worshipped here since 1992; Father Steve baptized our children. When Father John arrived in 1997, I was practicing law and raising children, with little time for anything else. Caroline Bauerschmidt kept inviting me to various Church groups, which I never could manage to attend. Finally, instead of just inviting me to St. Mary’s Guild, she began asking me to please bring “desperately needed” food. This artifice committed me to many meetings I would otherwise have skipped, and I credit her with pulling me into the deeper life of our Church community.

I practiced law for fourteen years, in a varied and challenging general defense litigation prac­tice. I made a career change to full time motherhood with the birth of our third child only because, with Cove and I both commuting, we felt an unmet need at home. I went through Journey in Christ and was confirmed in 2000. My activities since then have pretty much centered on our family, Church, and Christ Episcopal School. I love the school dearly and see it as a beautiful ministry by our Church into the lives of many children and their families. I began volunteering with the parents’ association, and ended up serving for seven years on the school’s Board of Trustees, with my last term ending this May. I’ve served as Board Secretary, Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, and on the Vestry Committee to investigate the feasibility of adding an Upper School, a two year undertaking that is beginning to bear good fruit, with a ninth grade opening in 2009.

I am a past President of St. Mary’s Guild, and a founding member of St. Elizabeth’s Guild and the Play and Pray group, Alison Mercante’s inspiration. I believe that the women who energized these groups at that time were instrumental in establishing the current designated nursery space, the children’s library, and a Tuesday morning Bible study with nursery care. I have led Journey in Christ, taught Sun­day School, led games at Vacation Bible School, chaired the Prayer Vigil, and served on the Vestry Nominating Committee. I was on the Archdiocesan Committee that introduced Summer Witness to CEEP, was CEEP’s grant writer for one year, and am serving on the Episcopal Schools Commission for the Diocese.

I pray a lot, and worry about how to keep my childrens’ hearts open to God’s voice in this in­creasingly distracting world. I attend two silent retreats a year at the Solomon Center, one of my favorite places on earth. I feel very blessed to be part of such a vibrant and loving Church community, and if elected will endeavor to serve to the best of my ability. I am honored to have been asked.

Suzanne Duggan

In 1994 Don and I moved to the Northshore. Among the first things we did was to join Franco’s and Christ Episcopal Church. After a number of months, we found the perfect house for us — an old Acadian cottage on Jahncke Avenue a half mile from the church. Our four children being grown and scattered to the four winds (so to speak), we moved into our little house and began settling into the unique and fun community living that Covington offers.

Our lives have been touched and nurtured by the people and activities at Christ Church. Because I had been active in the altar guild at previous churches in Shreveport and Baton Rouge, joining the group here at Christ Church was a natural first endeavor. Soon Don Dee and I were enlisted as Greeters and Sunday School teachers, one year for 4­5 year olds, another for 11­13 year olds. Early in Fr. John’s tenure as Rector, an effort was made to begin numerous small groups. I agreed to facilitate a women’s Sunday morning discussion group and have con­tinued to help in that capacity since.

Professionally, my background includes 17 years in secondary education. But, oops…..no science jobs were available on the Northshore when we moved here, so I decided to do something different. I worked for 4 years with and for our neighbor and friend, Will Smart, learned to paint pottery at the Hasslock Studio, and finally in 2001 moved into my new profes­sion as a massage therapist. My appreciation for the human body and its movement and healing coupled with a desire for heart­centered interaction with others has made this new vocation per­fect for me. I have a lovely, serene studio adjacent to our home and am able to coordinate home life — taking care of Don Dee and our two poodle­girls (Isabelle and Gertie) — with the joy of gardening and of course my work.

Spiritually, I have learned that when I reach­out and open­up to others, God’s spirit moves to awaken my soul in ways that meditation and personal reading alone cannot do. As the body of Christ, we need one another — in the good times and in the bad times, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. Each Sunday as I kneel at the beginning of the service, I look at the people around me. Gratitude and oneness settle my spirit. We are indeed one body in Christ

— many talents, many interests, many opinions. All these together make us what we are — not only for ourselves but for our community, for the world, and ultimately for the oneness that is Eternity. Now.

I have been asked to submit my name for election to the Vestry. If chosen, I would be honored to serve in this exciting time as we call a new spiritual leader, a new Rector for Christ Episcopal Church.

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