Elder Class 2021

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ATLANTA 2021 ELDER CLASS NOMINEES Tim Bennett Tim has been a member of First Presbyterian Church since 1995. He is an active member of the Ours For Today Sunday School class and has led the Men’s Small Group for the class for the past 4 years. Originally from the New York area, Tim attended Wake Forest University, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio/TV/Film. He has been in broadcast television sales for nearly 30 years and currently works for CBS, where he is Director of Sales for the Southeast region. Tim and his wife Allison live in Brookhaven and have two sons – Jack (21) and Sam (18) who grew up in the church and were active in youth groups and mission trips.

Mary Busko Mary has been an active member of First Presbyterian Church since she and her family joined in 2006. She is currently a volunteer at The Mustard Seed and with Meals on Wheels. Mary is a fixture with FPC’s annual Vacation Bible School, illustrating Bible stories for children. She also served on the 2017 Nominating Committee, and she and her husband, Eric, served as Co-Chairs of the 2014-2015 Stewardship Campaign. Mary has served on the Nursery/Preschool Committee, taught Worship Education, volunteered with the Women’s Transition Center and Childspring International. She is an active member of the Agora Sunday School class and participated in Disciple/Covenant Bible studies for 8 years. Mary graduated with a B.A. from Davidson College and an MBA from UNCChapel Hill. Mary’s professional background is in Marketing, as she worked at Coca-Cola for 11 years.

She has been a fundraising chair on the Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School Parents’ Association for two years. Mary and Eric have two girls, Mae and Harper (ages 14 and 12) who are active in Youth Ministry.

Denise Cables Denise Cables, a member since the mid-90s, met her husband Paul at FPC, and they married here in 1999. They have two children: Quinton, 15, and Anna-Claire, 13. Denise works in marketing for AT&T. At FPC, she has served with the usher team, the Women’s Transition Center, the cherub choir, Vacation Bible School, teaching 7th and 8th grade Sunday School, and last year’s youth mission trip to Pikeville, KY. For many years Denise has played the flute with our orchestra, the St. Cecilia Consort, and one of her greatest joys is sharing the gift of music along with her musician friends during worship services in our sanctuary. She also serves on the Concerts@First Guild (formerly Musica Sacra) and can usually be spotted at the annual Christmas pageant beside Jens, where she helps keep the pageant rolling. She is active in the Ours for Today Sunday School class, Circle 13, the Emerging Generations council, and the music ministry.

E. Dale Dewberry Dale has been a member of First Presbyterian Church since 1964. He and his late wife, Ginger, reared their two sons, Darin and David, in the Church.

He is a graduate of the Atlanta Public School System, as well as Emory University’s College and Law School. He recently retired after 52 years practicing business law and will be married to Connie D. York in March 2018. He previously served as an Elder, completing his service in 1991. He is active in multiple Discipleship ministries, including Sunday school, Theology Matters, Discipleship Council, and men’s ministry.

Becky Powhatan Kelley Becky joined First Presbyterian Church in 2011and served as an elder in the Class of 2017. She has chaired Community Ministries Council and cochaired the Nominating Committee. She has also participated as a weekly volunteer for the food pantry, an usher, and an overnight volunteer for the Women’s Transition Center. Currently, she coordinates the volunteers for the Prayer Breakfast each Sunday morning. She completed the four-year Education for Ministry course and continues to be a member of a women’s Bible Study. She participated in the first Cuba mission trip and went on the 2013 pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Becky was a practicing lawyer for 34 years and retired as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Distribution and Business Affairs for The Weather Channel in 2010. She has served on numerous non-profit boards, including Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, Old Dominion Educational Foundation, and currently, The Atlanta Women’s Foundation.

She is married to Mark and has two grown children, Chandler and Taylor.

Sarah Sumner Kirsch Sarah joined First Presbyterian Church through confirmation in 1991, having attended with her family since the second grade. As a youth, she was active in the youth group and mission programs. Sarah and her husband, Brian, were married at First Presbyterian in 2001 and have been regulars in the Agora/ Gathering Place Sunday School Class since its formation. They are the proud parents of Sumner (7th grade), Rand (4th grade), and Quinn (1st grade).

Professionally, Sarah serves as Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute Atlanta District. The ULI provides leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. During Sarah’s tenure, ULI Atlanta has been focused on advancing walkable, connected, and inclusive communities. Sarah is actively engaged in her community, serving on the inaugural GO Team for her public school cluster of Atlanta Public Schools, the board of the Morris Brandon Foundation, and the City of Atlanta Zoning Review Board. She earned her B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University’s Terry Sanford School of Public Policy.

Julia Newsom Julia and her husband, Eddie, have been members of First Presbyterian over 32 years.

A returning elder, Julia has served twice on both the Nominating Committee and the Annual Giving Campaign. She has chaired The Hanging of the Greens and Vacation Bible School. She served on the Christian Education Preschool Committee and has taught Kindergarten and Youth Sunday School. Julia’s passion is studying the Bible.

She completed all four of the Disciple Bible Studies, and led Disciple for four years, as well as several other Bible studies. One of the Bible Study groups has now been meeting for 17 years. She’s also taught adult Sunday School. She is currently serving on the Community Ministries council. Julia graduated from the University of North Carolina and its law school. She and Eddie have two daughters, Sophie and Julia Bowen, who grew up at FPC. After celebrating the recent weddings of her daughters, she was happy to join the Wedding Ministry as a wedding coordinator. She and Eddie participate in the new Sunday School class, Parents With Young Children (PWYC), trying to relive those glorious days.

Doug Orr Doug and his wife Kim have been members of First Pres since 2000. He has previously served as an elder and a member of the Mission Council. He has participated as an elementary Sunday school teacher, Co-Chair of the Nominating Committee, and a member of the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee. He’s a member of the Covenant Sunday school class and participates in a long-standing church Men’s group. He regularly participates in home building projects through Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta as well as projects in New Orleans and on First Pres family mission trips in Honduras. Doug and Kim have three children: Molly (23), Sam (22) and Will (13) who have all been raised in the church. Doug is a graduate of Duke University and a partner in a media consulting firm.

Gary Shell - nominated to serve as a Trustee-Elder Gary and his wife Jenny have been FPC members for over 30 years. Gary has been an adult Sunday school teacher and active in the music ministries for adults and youth, including longtime service as music director for the annual youth musicals. He was ordained as a ruling elder at FPC and served on the search committee that called Charles and Diane Whittaker.

Most of his professional career was in corporate finance. He retired in late 2011 as senior VP and CFO of Atlanta-based EMS Technologies. He is a CPA, and he occasionally consults on corporate financial matters. His BBA and Master of Accountancy degrees are from the University of Georgia. Gary and Jenny have three adult children who were baptized and raised at FPC. Gary’s main avocation is the piano, but he also loves his granddaughters, golf and gardening.

Greg Smith - nominated to serve as a Trustee-Elder Greg has lived in Atlanta for the past 23 years and joined First Presbyterian Church in 1998. He and his wife Christy were married in the church in 2000 and have three children, Lauren (13), Marin (9) and Graham (9). Since joining the church, Greg has served as a Sunday school teacher for two and three year-olds and second graders. He has also served on several Annual Giving Campaign committees and the former Stewardship Council. Professionally, Greg has been an investment banker for the entirety of his 24-year career and currently is head of the global restaurant investment banking practice and head of the southeast region for Barclays. Greg graduated from Bucknell University with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1994. He also serves on the board of directors for The Kyle Pease Foundation, an organization which helps athletes with disabilities and their families to participate in endurance sports.

Jane Weyant Jane is a native of South Carolina and a lifelong Presbyterian. She joined the FPC choir in 1975 and has been active in the music ministry ever since, playing in the orchestra and handbells and accompanying musicals. She served on the committees that created the Lay Academy and Focus programs, and on the Arts Council, the Discipleship Council, and the Musica Sacra Guild. She traveled with FPC on the Switzerland Study Abroad trip and is currently one of the leaders of the Choir and Friends Sunday School class. Jane has two adult children, Glenn and Alice, and three grandchildren, Molly, Benjamin, and Andrew. She graduated from Mary Baldwin College with a BA in music and has a master's and doctorate in history from Georgia State University. She worked at Georgia Tech as Assistant Dean in the College of Engineering and is now retired.

Whitney Woodward Whitney is a native Atlantan. She joined First Presbyterian Church in 1994 through the Youth program, where she was confirmed and baptized.

Following graduate school and moving back to Atlanta, she has volunteered in the Nursery and taught Sunday School for several years in first and third grades. She currently serves on the Emerging Generations Council and as an usher. Additionally, she loves being a part of PW Circle 13. Whitney received her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and her M.Ed. from The University of Georgia. She is the Executive Director of Haygood Weekday Children's Ministries, and prior to that, worked for Atlanta Public Schools as a teacher and administrator. Whitney is married to her high school sweetheart, Ted, and they have three children: Anneke (9), Knox (6), and Wesley (4).

YOUTH ELDERS Nick Benson has attended First Presbyterian all his life. He grew up in the church, attending Sunday school and participating in many church events, from musicals and Christmas pageants to lock-ins and youth retreats. He has gone on almost every mission trip offered in the high school, and recently joined the youth leadership team. Nick is a junior at Woodward Academy. He is passionate about swimming and competes on his school’s team, as well as a summer league team. One of Nick’s favorite activities is working at the YMCA camp, Camp High Harbor. This past summer, he was a counselor, and worked there for three weeks. He says that High Harbor is one of his favorite places on earth, because of the happy atmosphere, and the ability to come closer to God in a fun and wild way.

Charlie Trimble is 16 years old and a Junior at Pace Academy. He has two brothers, Will (18) and Davis (10), and his parents are Melissa and Ed Trimble. At school, he plays varsity lacrosse and runs varsity cross country.

Charlie is also in the chorus and is an active member of many clubs on campus. Outside of school, he plays on a church league basketball team and also plays the guitar. Charlie has been an active member of First Presbyterian his whole life. He was baptized in the church and has been a faithful Sunday School attendee. He participated in the youth choir and acted in many musicals and Christmas pageants. Charlie has also served as a Discipleship group leader and is currently serving a second year as youth leader.