Newly elected directors set to serve on Women’s Division
By Yvette Moore*
Fifty United Methodist Women members will begin serving four-year terms as directors of the Women’s Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries during an orientation and organizational meeting at Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 4-7. The Women’s Division is the national policy-making arm of the nearly 800,000-member United Methodist Women organization.
United Methodist Women members elected 45 of the new directors at meetings convened in the denomination’s five jurisdictional regions this spring. Five of those women also serve as United Methodist Women jurisdictional presidents. Women’s Division officers and Committee on Nominations elected five women as well.
“Conference United Methodist Women members nominate three people to serve as Women’s Division directors, and the elections take place at the jurisdictional meetings,” explained Dorothy Edmond, outgoing Women’s Division director from Atlanta, Ga., and chair of the division’s nominations committee. “Delegates to the jurisdictional meetings are elected by United Methodist Women in their conferences. The process is the fairest I’ve seen. The women aren’t handpicked, but they are anointed by the Holy Spirit.”
In May a special nominations committee comprised of six current Women’s Division directors, five newly elected directors and two Women’s Division staff resource persons without vote presented a slate for new corporate officers for the division and chairs for its committees on national and international ministries with women children and youth. The newly elected directors will vote on the slate during the September organizational meeting in Nashville.
“The process was prayerful, honest and fair,” Ms. Edmond said of the special nominations committee’s work. “There was a trust level that I thought was absolutely great. People trusted each other enough to say what they wanted to say, to be honest. I think everyone left feeling we had done the best job that we could do. We have for the first time a person from the Pacific Islands and a person from Haiti. Diversity on the division will expand our horizons and expose more people throughout the country to United Methodist Women. It will make the division better.”
The newly elected directors are:
North Central Jurisdiction
Jacqueline Euper, Owosso First United Methodist Church, Owosso, Mich. Detroit Conference
Beverly Nichea VerVeer Guy, Trinity United Methodist Church, Grand Rapids, Mich., West Michigan Conference
**Maggie Jackson, Werner United Methodist Church, Cleveland, Ohio, East Ohio Conference -- Nominee for Vice President/Chair, Christian Social Responsibility
**Jeanette Kraus, Asbury-Delaware United Methodist Church, Delaware, Ohio, East Ohio Conference
Angela Michelle Lauver, St. James United Methodist Church, Miamisburg, Ohio, West Ohio Conference
Olivia Dee Pleggenkuhle, Hawkeye United Methodist Church, Hawkeye, Iowa, Iowa Conference
**Carol Kay Rieke, Fairfax United Methodist Church, Fairfax, Minn., Minnesota Conference
Marta Rodriguez, Humboldt Park United Methodist Church, Chicago, Ill., Northern Illinois Conference
Lois Travillion, Kelly-Woodlawn United Methodist Church, Chicago, Ill., Northern Illinois Conference – North Central Jurisdiction President
Chue Vang, Hmong Community United Methodist Church, Milwaukee, Wis., Wisconsin Conference
Carolyn Yockey, First United Methodist Church, Normal, Ill., Illinois Great Rivers Conference
Kyung Yu, Dayton Korean United Methodist Church, Dayton, Ohio, West Ohio Conference
Northeastern Jurisdiction
Elizabeth Conklin, Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Troy Conference
**Yuland Daley, Trinity United Methodist Church, Springfield, Mass., New England Conference -- Nominee for Vice President/Chair, Membership and Organizational Development
*Courtney Harvey, Bethlehem Stonepile United Methodist Church, Red Lion, Pa., Central Pennsylvania Conference -- Nominee for Chair of Committee on International Ministries with Women, Children and Youth
Myungrae Kim Lee, The United Methodist Korean Church of Astoria, Astoria, N.Y., New York Conference
Melissa Martinez, First United Methodist Church, Dover, N.J., Greater New Jersey Conference
**Joyce Miller, First United Methodist Church, Oneonta, N.Y., Wyoming Conference – Nominee for Vice President/Chair, Finance
**Lisa Swett, First United Methodist Church, Bangor, Maine, New England Conference
Carmen Faye-Sanford Vianese, Nunda United Methodist Church, Nunda, N.Y., Western New York Conference
Sabrina White, Gwynn Oak United Methodist Church, Gwynn Oak, Md., Baltimore-Washington Conference – Northeastern Jurisdiction President
South Central Jurisdiction
**Kathleen Conrad, St. Mark United Methodist Church, Opelousas, La., Louisiana Conference
**Edna Davis, Eureka United Methodist Church, Corsicana, Texas, Central Texas Conference
**Inelda Z. González, Lyford First United Methodist Church, Lyford, Texas, Southwest Texas Conference -- Nominee for Women’s Division President
Betty Jean Hodson, Wichita First United Methodist Church, Wichita, Kan., Kansas West Conference
Vivian Ellen Lipsey, First United Methodist Church of Van Horn, Van Horn, Texas, New Mexico Conference
Karen Mann, Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, Little Rock, Ark., Arkansas Conference
Yvette Kim Richards, St. James United Methodist Church, Kansas City, Mo., Missouri Conference
Becky Ruth Thompson, Tulsa Indian United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Okla., Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference
**Ilda G. Vásquez, Weslaco First United Methodist Church, Weslaco, Texas, Southwest Texas Conference – South Central Jurisdiction President
**Marilyn Zehring, Columbus First United Methodist Church, Columbus, Neb., Nebraska Conference -- Nominee for Chair of Committee on National Ministries with Women, Children and Youth
Southeastern Jurisdiction
**Lisa Archer, Germantown United Methodist Church, Germantown, Tenn., Memphis Conference
Emily Booker, Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tenn., Tennessee Conference – Southeastern Jurisdiction President
**Carol Gaston, First United Methodist Church, Salem, Va., Virginia Conference
Mary Lynne Gilbert, West Market Street United Methodist Church, Greensboro, N.C., Western North Carolina Conference
Gloria Gilmore, Asbury United Methodist Church, Savannah, Ga., South Georgia Conference
**Earlene Gladney, Centenary United Methodist Church, Memphis, Tenn., Memphis Conference
**Frances “Lynn” Hamric, Centreville United Methodist Church, Alabama-West Florida Conference
**Nancy Bearden Hudson, Centerville First United Methodist Church, Centerville, Ga., South Georgia Conference
**Emily Innes, Millbrook United Methodist Church, Raleigh, N.C., North Carolina Conference – Nominee for Vice President
Tonya Davis Murphy, Grace United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Ga., North Georgia Conference
Marie Judith Pierre-Okerson, Norland United Methodist Church, Miami, Fla., Florida Conference – Nominee for Chair of Committee on Nominations
Grace Pyen, Dunwoody United Methodist Church, Dunwoody, Ga., North Georgia Conference
**Jeanette Westerfield, Gateway United Methodist Church, Louisville, Ky., Kentucky Conference
Western Jurisdiction
Jo Anne Kay (Alter) Hayden, Anchor Park United Methodist Church, Anchorage, Alaska, Alaska Missionary Conference
Tupou Seini Kelemeni, First United Methodist Church, Honolulu, Hawaii, California-Pacific Conference
Katherine Oknam Kim, Korean United Methodist Church of Santa Clara Valley, San Jose, Calif., California-Nevada Conference
Kumja Lim, Asbury Korean United Methodist Church, Centennial, Colo., Rocky Mountain Conference – Nominee for Recording Secretary
Bonnie Jean McOmber, First United Methodist Church, Boise, Idaho, Oregon-Idaho Conference – Western Jurisdiction President
Judi Nibbelink, Vista de la Montaña United Methodist Church, Tucson, Ariz., Desert Southwest Conference
*Yvette Moore is an executive secretary for communications with the Women’s Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.
** Returning to second term as a Women’s Division director.
Date posted: Jun. 11, 2008
