Introducing New Board Members and a List of Current Team and Committee Leads
Three members joined the Board of Trustees in January, 2017, the first month of the church year: Jim Price, President-elect; Frank Mabrey, Treasurer; and Anne Laukaitis, Secretary. They join returning members Lee Carnes, President; Krissa Palmer, Past President; Ilene McFarland, Member at Large; and Teresa Rowell, Member at Large.
Jim Price, President-elect
Jim was married to fellow Piedmont UU Church member Susan Price for 41 years before she passed in May, 2015. He has one son, Jay, and both live in Huntersville. He has a degree in English literature from UNC Charlotte, graduated from CPCC with a degree in transportation and business, and earned his MBA from Pfeiffer University. He retired from Clariant Corporation as Director of Sourcing for North America and he was an adjunct professor in business for 6 years at CPCC and for 11 years at Pfeiffer. He served in the US Army Infantry in Vietnam.
Jim has been a member of Piedmont UU Church for 5 years. He has been the Men’s Group Chairman for 4 years, was a Chalice Circle leader, served on the Finance Committee, served on the Building & Grounds Committee for 3 years including stints as Vice Chairperson and Chairperson, is a Welcome Ambassador, served on the Greeters Team, is Tri-Chairperson of the Animal Ministry Team, photographs dogs weekly at the animal shelter as part of the Animal Ministry Team outreach, and is a tutor at J.M. Alexander Middle School as part of Partners In Education, a Piedmont UU social justice outreach. Jim believes the credential he has that mostly qualifies him for his post is that he loves the Piedmont UU Church community and believes by living our principles and serving one another, we serve our community and our nation.
Frank Mabrey, Treasurer
Frank moved to Charlotte at the end of November 2014. He found Piedmont UU Church in April of 2015 and became a member the following June. He became Treasurer in September of 2016. His prior experience with Unitarianism was at the West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Portland, Oregon, mostly in 1980-1986.
Frank wrote: “After getting my undergraduate degree at Pittsburg State University I took a job with a CPA firm in Kansas City where I transferred to their computer consulting division. From there I migrated to Portland, Oregon, first as an internal auditor then as an independent computer consultant. The bulk of my career was related to inventory control systems for manufacturers. I have also spent quite a lot of time dealing with real estate I own and attempting to find time to travel. January of 2017 will be a major transition for me as I will be joined by my fiancee, Mary.”
Anne Laukaitis, Secretary
Anne has served previously both as Secretary (2007-2010) and President (1992-1995 and 2002-2005) of the Piedmont UU Church Board. She has been a member since 1999 and has held various other positions as well, including serving as chair of the Ministerial Search Committee in 2009-2010 that brought Rev. Robin Tanner to Piedmont UU. She has been continuously active in social justice and pastoral care ministries. She has been married to Bill Laukaitis for 50 years and has two adult children and six grandchildren. She has graduate degrees from UNC Charlotte and UNC Chapel Hill and is the retired Executive Director of the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children. Current volunteer work includes teaching ESL to Latina mothers at Kannapolis Head Start and serving as chair of the Cabarrus County Health and Human Services Council.
2017 Leadership
PIEDMONT UU CHURCH
Board of Trustees:
President: Lee Elliott Carnes
Past President: Krissa Palmer
President-Elect: Jim Price
Secretary: Anne Laukaitis
Treasurer: Frank Mabrey
Member At-Large: Ilene McFarland
Member At-Large: Teresa Rowell
Committee Chairs and Team Leaders
Committees:
Endowment Fund: Joseph Arrants, Jeff Blum, Jeff Jennings, Helen Patil, and Alan Perkinson
Finance: Jeff Jennings
Leadership Development: Elaine Deck, Beth Foreman, Krissa Palmer, Christine Robinson, and Steve Whitfield
Teams:
Adult RE: Daniel Aldridge
Annual Commitment Time: Michael Demby
Building & Grounds: Violet Hatley and Emily Wright
Communications: Meredith Norman
Congregational Care: Michelle Murphy and Cathy Tata
Healthy Congregation: Beth Forman
Lifespan RE Team Lead: Anika Davis
Membership: Lynne Godfrey
Music: Perry Babcock and Nancy DeLux
Salisbury Steering: Beth Foreman
Social Justice:
Bill Crowley, Team Lead
Ron King and Doug Moore, A.D.O.R.E.
Mimi Davis, Claudia Parkinson, and Jim Price, Animal Ministry
Karen Haag and Jolena James-Szanton, Partners In Education
Worship Team: Lucy Neel
LAKE NORMAN
Board of Trustees:
President: Sandy McFeeley
Secretary: Nicole Gantz
Steering Team:
Team Facilitator: Nicole Gantz
Adult Spiritual Exploration (S.E.): Daniel Aldridge
Children’s Spiritual Exploration (S.E.): Véronique Singerman
Fellowship: Grace Bouchoucha
Membership: Marjorie Flowers
Worship: Marilin Campbell
–Anne Laukaitis, Piedmont UU Church Board of Trustees Secretary
