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You are here: Let's Meet! >> Our Board
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Let's Meet!
Our Board
 We're Open To Serve:
Mondays 4pm-6pm Thursdays 10am-12pm Saturdays 10am-12pm        |
Introducing Our Board
Our Board of Directors is comprised of two representatives from each of our Sponsoring churches. The Board serves without compensation and voluntarily shares their time, talent, and treasure in the pursuit of feeding the hungry of Hall County. We are grateful for their leadership and inspiration.
Mrs. Mary Alice Swope
Oakwood First United Methodist Church
My involvement with South Hall Community Food Pantry began in 2002 when my pastor asked if I thought our church, Oakwood lst United Methodist, should partner with Christ Lutheran and St. Gabriel's Episcopal churches to start a food ministry. From the first exploratory meeting until today, the Pantry has been a major part of my daily life and my faith walk. I see God's grace and loving generosity consttantly as He anticipates and meets the Pantry's every need. I enjoy working alongside volunteers from other churches and the community, most of whom I might never have met otherwise. This opportunity to serve "outside my comfort zone" has grown my faith and my appreciation of the needs and sacrifices made by those we serve. I am deeply grateful for South Hall Community Food Pantry.
Mrs. Carol Williams
East Lanier Community Church
 After 53 years in South Carolina, I moved to Georgia 9 years ago. My career has been in nonprofit management with March of Dimes, American Red Cross and United Way. These organizations provided me the opportunity to give back to my community and impact lives on a daily basis. I have two grown children and one very smart granddog. My wonderful husband has shown me the wonders of the USA from the back of his motorcycle. I also enjoy reading, dabbling in photography, and volunteering.
When East Lanier Community Church decided to start a community outreach ministry, I volunteered to help. The South Hall Community Food Pantry was first introduced by Mike Dean. He encouraged participation and East Lanier Community Church became a sponsor in 2009. The Food Pantry provides East Lanier Community Church the opportunity to live its vision of service aimed at meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of this community and the world. I have seen the Lord’s hand on the South Hall Community Food Pantry from the very beginning. It is through His provision that the Pantry has been able to meet the needs of its growing client numbers. I have been richly blessed to participate in the efforts of the Pantry. Mrs. Jackie Buchan
McEver Road UMC
I moved to Oakwood 30 years ago and started attending McEver Road UMC. Within a few years I had 3 preschoolers, so the Mother's Morning Out (MMO) Program was a God send to a stay-at-home mom. As the 'little white church on the hill' grew, so did my involvement in the missions and programs of the church. For 18 years I had the privilege of being the director of the MMO & Preschool and then I was given the opportunity to return to 'real school' and teach at West Hall High School & Middle School until 2013 when I retired. My husband, a life long resident of Hall County, is also retired from the Department of Transportation. We bought a little RV and have had many adventures seeing the beautiful country God has blessed us with.
I started volunteering at the food pantry as a way to give back to the community. Along with involvement in our church's children program I also had the opportunity of going on a mission trip to Red Bird Kentucky this past year and I'm looking forward to going again to help the folks of Eastern Kentucky & Appalachia. God has been very good to me & I am happy give back to help others. Mr. Ken Hayden
Christ Lutheran Church
I began volunteering at South Hall Community Food Pantry in July of 2012, even before officially joining Christ Lutheran Church. The “Great Recession” had not ended and my early days at the pantry were eye opening. Seeing the faces of those families who were down and out really touched my heart. It quickly became my pleasure to be the first volunteer there to open and make sure everything is stocked up and in order when our first customers arrive. When I saw customers sitting there when I arrived, I fully realized just how desperate some of our neighbors are to feed their families.
In 2014 I started doing ordering that portion of our food that comes from the Atlanta Community Food Bank. When a fellow volunteer became unable to serve on the Board of Directors, I took his place in late 2016. I feel truly blessed that God has provided me this way to serve Him and our neighbors in need. In addition to the food pantry, I currently serve on the Church Council and Finance Committee as well a being Treasurer of our HOA. I’ve been a die hard Clemson football fan since the early 70’s and a Pittsburgh Penguins NHL fan. Mrs. Jean Prezel
McEver Road United Methodist Church
I have been in service to the SHCFP for several years and serve as a board member. My home church is McEver Road United Methodist Church where I have been involved with the choir and as a pianist-organist. I serve on the leadership team as secretary, serve at Good News at Noon for over 20 years now, and continue to serve in the mission field with my church yearly at Redbird KY Mission Work Camp. I taught sciences for 38 years, with 28 years being a proud Blue Knight at Johnson High School! I have been blessed in so many ways and this is just one way I can serve our Lord Jesus Christ within the community.
Mrs. Cathy Freeman
Christ Lutheran Church
My work in food ministry began 20 years ago at Norcross Cooperative Ministries. When I retired from working in education for 46 years and moved to Lake Lanier, I joined Christ Lutheran Church. I was drawn to the South Hall Community Food Pantry and found a wonderful group of people to work with. I try to keep the statistics for volunteers and neighbors served. It truly is a wonderful way to serve our community and to witness the love of Christ for us all. Since Ken brought up college football, I must admit I am a Florida Gator.
Mr. Mike Robertson
East Lanier Community Church
Mike Robertson joined the SHCFP Board in July, 2014 as a representative from East Lanier Community Church. Mike and his family have been Saturday volunteers at the Pantry for almost 5 years. Mike is a member of East Lanier Community Church where he serves on the Missions Team, in Men's Ministry, and assists with teaching Sunday School. Mike was previously on the board of two ministries in Augusta, Georgia (AGAPE Ministries (urban ministry) and International Link (international students). Mike is a project engineer. He is married to Sandie Robertson and has two daughters, Sydney and Diana. Mike says "I enjoy volunteering at SHCFP because it is an opportunity for me to work with my family to help others."
Mr. Tim Tieslau
St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church
Mr. Fred Skey
St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church
I moved from Atlanta to Oakwood in the fall of 2009 and joined St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church. Very quickly I became involved in the Food Pantry ministry by volunteering to serve when it was St. Gabriel's turn to do so. This ministry is particularly important to me because it never fails to remind me how fortunate I am compared to so many others in this community. I am always reminded of my need to be thankful and to not take anything for granted.
I was born and raised in England and migrated to Australia in my early twenties. After a few years in Melbourne, I was moved by an Australian company to Hawaii where I spent about 17 years. I moved to Atlanta in 1990 and then up here to Oakwood in 2009. People often ask me which place was my favorite. I always have the same answer and it is "the place I am living right now." This is because I have discovered it's not so much about the place as it is about the people. After a while living somewhere, one becomes involved in the lives of people. Here in Oakwood, it is no different. This is my favorite place and it is because of the people. Some of those people are the wonderful volunteers at the Food Pantry and the clients we serve. I regard this opportunity to sit on the Board as an honor and I'm very happy to help the hungry in our community. |
Loving Hearts, Loving Work
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