wfn.org | Church Administrators Hold Annual Convention

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

99129 
5-August-1999 
 
         Church Administrators Hold Annual Convention 
 
    Goal of organization is to develop better office skills 
 
    by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
SEATTLE-Nearly 80 Presbyterian church office workers - church secretaries, 
administrative assistants, office managers, financial secretaries, 
bookkeepers and associate executives - gathered here July 23-25 for the 
23rd annual conference of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Administrative 
Personnel Association (APA). 
 
    There should have been more. 
 
    "I don't know - I guess some pastors and executives are suspicious ... 
they think we're trying to unionize or something," said Teri Bauer of 
Tampa, Fla., the APA's new office manager. from Tampa.  "They need to 
realize that the better trained their support staff are, the better their 
offices will operate," she told the Presbyterian News Service. 
 
    Those who attended this gathering experienced a rich mix of worship, 
plenary presentations and practical workshops and classes.  Certification 
credits are given for attendance at the classes and workshops and at the 
concluding conference banquet, four APA members were awarded certification 
plaques. 
 
    They are Nita Padgett, financial secretary for Brevard-Davidson River 
Presbyterian Church in Brevard, N.C.; Chris DeKay, an administrative 
assistant for the Synod of Alaska-Northwest in Seattle; Tina Donan, 
administrative assistant for Graystone Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, 
Tenn.; and Sandy Boyce, administrative assistant for Monmouth Presbytery in 
Tennent, N.J., who received advanced APA certification. 
 
    The association also bade farewell to Dot Bass, longtime APA office 
manager in Raleigh, N.C., who retired at the conclusion of the conference. 
And it presented a special award to Alma Larson for her years of service as 
APA treasurer.  Larson is a retired church administrator living in 
Greensboro, N.C. 
 
    Certification classes offered at the conference included "Developing 
Professionalism," taught by the Rev. Donna De Cou, moderator of Seattle 
Presbytery; "Security and the Church Office," taught by Gary G. Felt of the 
Bellevue (Wash.) Police Dept.; "Humor and Church Administration,' taught by 
the Rev. Wayne Keller, a retired newspaper columnist and still active 
leader of seminars and workshops; "Financial Reporting", taught by Lynda 
Mickelson, an accountant and the financial officer for Inland Northwest 
Presbytery in Spokane, Wash.; "Financial Planning for Retirement," taught 
by the Rev. Robert B. Smith of the Board of Pensions; "Presbyterian History 
Since Reunion," taught by the Rev. Jerry Van Marter of the Presbyterian 
News Service; and "Spiritual Growth," taught by the Rev. Glaucia 
Vasconcelos Wilkey, associate for worship in the Office of Theology and 
Worship in Louisville. 
 
    Between national conferences, APA conducts educational events and 
business meetings in 10 regional bodies, the newest of which - Rocky 
Mountains - was formally organized shortly before this conference.  Other 
regional bodies are Alaska-Northwest, Florida, Heartland, Mid-Atlantic, 
Mid-South, Northeast, Northern California-Nevada, Southern California and 
Hawaii and Southwest. 
 
    This conference was hosted by the Alaska-Northwest Region, with Susie 
Zych, president of the region, serving as conference chair.  She is 
administrative assistant in the office of Olympia Presbytery.  Next year's 
conference will be Aug. 6-8 in Williamsburg, Va., hosted by the 
Mid-Atlantic Region, whose president is Carol Lind, administrator for First 
Presbyterian Church of Newark, Del. 
 
    For more information about the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 
Administrative Personnel Association, contact Teri Bauer, national office 
manager, 18409 Turning Point Drive, Lutz, FL 33549; phone: 813-909-1694; 
fax: 813-909-1694; e-mail: <apapcusa@aol.com>. 

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