2019 Ministry Report - Full

MILLIONS HEARD THE GOSPEL Because of You! 2019 Annual Ministry Impact Report

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, For the past 102 years, God has continually used Lutheran Hour Ministries to bring messages of hope to the downtrodden, the lonely, and the lost. Decade by decade, we have risen to the pressing challenges of the times to proclaim the Savior. Each milestone required a bold step of faith to share Jesus on a global scale. And now, more than ever, this mission is critical.

Today, with billions of souls in danger of entering eternity apart from Christ, the need to go out into the world and grow, nurture, and expand the Body of Christ has never been greater. LHM will not rest until we proclaim the Gospel to as many of these souls as possible, in ways they can understand.

While the world has changed over the last century, the power of the laity remains strong today. Thanks to the sustained, generous support of faithful individuals like you, LHM reaches increasingly disengaged audiences, as well as people who have never even heard about the love of Christ.

On behalf of our entire staff, I’d like to thank you for your partnership in ministry, your prayers, and your financial support during the past year. Without you, we would not be able to share the Gospel with more than 135 million people around the world each week through a variety of culturally-

CONTENTS A Year in Review

Ministry by the Numbers

Impact Stories

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relevant outreach programs and resources. Your gifts, prayers, and volunteer involvement allow hurting people to find answers and relief in the Gospel.

Please explore this year’s ministry impact report to see just a few of the ways God is working through you. I hope you are humbled to see how God uses our talents and treasures to make His Gospel known.

With your continued partnership, we can make an even greater difference in the lives of the lost and the hurting. I hope you will continue to join us in mission and ministry as we advance our efforts of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church.

Thank you so much for your faithful support. I look forward to serving with you in the mission field.

Your Partner in HIS Mission,

Kurt Buchholz President & CEO Lutheran Hour Ministries

Consolidating Statement of Activities

Board of Directors & Foundation Members

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A YEAR IN R E V I E W

How Your Gifts Helped LHM Share the Gospel in 2019 Lutheran Hour Ministries witnessed exciting progress in 2019 for each of the four strategic ministry priorities outlined in our comprehensive five-year strategic plan. Following are some of the ways in which LHM was abundantly blessed by God during the last year thanks to your generous support.

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1,800

75,000

North American Stations Airing The Lutheran Hour®

4,500+

Supporters

316

50+

h ri s t t o t h e N C g a in

Countries Reached by Ministry

t

he

hu

d

rc

an

h

®

ns

B ri

ti o

ng

Staff Members Worldwide

LCMS/LCC Churches Using LHM Resources

57,996

Na

Annual Referrals to Churches and Christian Communities

807,303 Annual Responses to Outreach Efforts

ti o n s t o t h e

C

94,614 People Trained in Evangelism Last Year

136 million People Reached with the Gospel Globally Every Week 4

MINISTRY BY THE NUMBERS

Energize, Equip, and Engage Laity for Outreach Our Spiritual Conversations Kit provided thousands of individual Christians, groups, and congregations a one-stop solution for learning about our Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age offerings.

These were produced from research conducted in partnership with Barna Group and include a monograph that was named the Resource of the Year for Evangelism by Outreach Magazine in its March/April 2019 issue.

The acknowledgement by this widely respected Christian publication is a testimony to the timeliness of the research as well as its relevance to a wider Christian audience.

After a successful year of resource development, presentations, and conversations around Spiritual Conversations, we released the monograph for our second year of partner research with Barna Group under the theme of Households of Faith. This research looked at Christian households in America and how the ever-changing household (the nuclear family is not the norm anymore) interacts with the people under that roof and how faith is talked about and shared between household members.

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Our LHM Learn platform (lhm.org/learn) added several new outreach resources to its learning library to help individuals reach out with the love of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives.

Around 2,000 active users are participating in the dozens of courses available under five categories: Christian Foundations, Cultural Concepts, Everyday Insights, Outreach Essentials, and Spiritual Reflections.

Our successful Online Mission Trip transitioned to a new program called Gospel Adventures. The first year’s theme, Passport to Peru, offered an interactive website with videos, daily curriculum, theme music, and optional game and snack activities, all under an overarching biblical theme. Nearly 850 teachers, parents, and other educators registered for this year’s adventure—which means more than 35,000 elementary and middle school students saw firsthand how the Gospel is shared in another part of the world.

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Grow God’s Kingdom Through Expanded Media Outreach In addition to airing on more than 1,800 traditional radio stations throughout North America, The Lutheran Hour is also being heard today on new media platforms such as a mobile app, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Sirius XM satellite radio. As The Lutheran Hour entered its 87th broadcast season this past fall, we launched a sister podcast titled Speaking of Jesus. Each weekly podcast includes people from different walks of life, different stages of life, and different family backgrounds having real conversations about life, Jesus, and what He means to them. Hosted by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour, and Director of Christian Education Jessica Bordeleau, the podcast serves as an encouragement for listeners to invite Jesus into their everyday conversations.

“I found light in the sermons while listening at all hours of many sleepless nights. God truly used The Lutheran Hour as a tool to change my life, and His plan is bringing me far more riches than I could ever hope to see by my own design.”

— JOHN, LISTENER OF THE LUTHERAN HOUR

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Responding to the needs of a growing Hispanic population in the United States that treasures relationships, community, and spiritual values that often clash with the more individualistic and secular American culture, LHM increased the frequency of our Sentido Latino podcast from biweekly to weekly. In addition to addressing the challenges Hispanics face when trying to adapt to a new culture, the podcast connects listeners to LHM’s Gospel-based resources.

We also relaunched our Para el Camino Spanish-language sermons as a weekly podcast with archived sermons alternating with new ones preached by Rev. Hector Hoppe. A companion website includes sermon notes, a downloadable PDF with indepth thoughts about the Bible text, reflection points, and questions for personal and/or small group study.

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Bring the Gospel to the Unreached Around the World Our partnership with SAT-7 PARS in the Persian language group allows a children’s program to be broadcast in the Middle East and North Africa that is having an impact not only in that region, but among some families in Central Asia as well. The live program, Golpand, focuses on children ages 5-13 and teaches morals and values through games, educational videos, and drama.

Outreach efforts in Kenya and Cameroon continue to expand through vocational training programs where LHM educates young women in a practical skill that helps them earn money to provide for their families. In addition to the training, women are introduced to the Gospel and enrolled in Bible Correspondence Courses to learn more about Jesus.

Several ministries throughout Asia are distributing MP3 players as a successful way to share the Gospel. They are given to people who have no way to read the Gospel as well as people living in rural areas where there are often no churches nearby. In addition to biblical readings and hymns, the devices contain portions of Luther’s Catechism as well as questions that guide listeners to recall what they have heard. The goal is for recipients to not only expand their personal knowledge, but to use the devices for sharing the Gospel with friends and family.

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Work has begun to bring our Spiritual Conversations philosophy and approach to several LHM ministry centers around the world. Even though the development of the Spiritual Conversations materials was based off Barna Group’s study done in the United States, we have found that the approach is transferable to cultural contexts outside of North America. This project will provide new educational resources for ministry centers to supplement our evangelism training seminars.

“I have learned so many things from your program.

With your help, I have learned more about the Bible.

You have taught me the right way to live and I learned from your program that I should give thanks for the blessings of the Lord.”

— Pareesa, a 10-year-old viewer of Golpand in the Middle East

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Engage Communities in the Digital Mission Field In today’s digital age, people increasingly go online to learn, connect, and even build relationships. The online community of THRED continues to deepen relationships with nonChristians through digital means by offering open and honest conversations with people of different backgrounds about life, faith, and Jesus. A revamped website focusing more on videos than blog-centric content functions more like media websites that non-Christians frequently visit and is sparking conversations with receptive and seeking people. THRED video views on Facebook increased more than 120,000 from last year and the program has now surpassed 10,000 followers.

People from more than 40 countries are coming to our Spanish/ Portuguese digital platform, Vivenciar.net, seeking spiritual help and direction while dealing with stress, anxiety, fear, loneliness, and many other life issues. The platform allows people to connect from anywhere at any time for interactions on pertinent topics. Nearly 325,000 people visited the site for the first time this past year.

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Our staff in Kazakhstan has taken content from THRED and launched THRED.asia to connect with people in Central Asia who are looking for guidance on topical issues such as marriage, family, loneliness, relationships, and more. Although this site mirrors much of North America’s content, the information has been translated into Russian through local authors so it is culturally relevant to the areas where it is being accessed.

Social media outreach in the Middle East and North Africa continues to grow by leaps and bounds. In the past year, millions of messages have reached tens of millions of people, and nearly 500,000 people from more than 15 countries in the region now follow one of our prominent outreach pages.

“I felt an emptiness in my heart and started feeling like life had no meaning. I heard about LHM on the radio and then found their Facebook page and was inspired by a video about how to cure worry, so I sent a message to their staff. Over several months, they shared the Gospel with me and explained what Jesus had done. I was eager to learn more, so I am now taking LHM’s Bible courses and reading my digital Bible while I look for a church near my home.”

— Soumia, a follower of LHM’s Facebook page in the Middle East and North Africa

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Developing Resources to Equip Individuals and Congregations Andrew Noble, associate pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kennewick, Washington, first became aware of LHM on social media.

Upon looking for additional information, he came across LHM Learn, an equipping resource that helps individuals reach out with the love and Good News of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives. The online courses cover five faith-strengthening categories and use an array of multimedia elements to help you gain a hearing for the Gospel message.

“We designed our weekly small groups around these courses for two reasons: to have the church grow together through studying together, and to connect and encourage one another on a personal level. We found these courses to be simple, clear, and easy to use, even if you’re not tech-savvy. They felt less like studies and more like guides to dig deeper into God’s Word and follow Christ in our everyday lives.”

As a congregational challenge, Bethlehem’s pastors suggested a year-long journey for members to work through several LHM Learn courses. About 70 members gathered in small groups to work their way through the courses together. Marilou, a member at Bethlehem, says, “LHM Learn is perfect because you are able to go as light or as deep as you want with the material. Whether you are new to the faith or were born and raised in the church, you can apply these learnings to your life.”

Bethlehem’s members also liked that the courses show how God can use all of us to share the Gospel. The lessons learned are already having a significant impact. “Several members have come up to me before worship on Sunday with excitement in their voices saying, ‘Pastor, guess what!? I actually had a spiritual conversation with someone,’ ” says Noble. “And then they’d tell me all about the experience. I feel like these courses have equipped and encouraged our members to live out their faith more intentionally and confidently.” u

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In many countries around the world, most of the population is under age 25.

Because of circumstances like broken families and secularism, many of these young people do not receive spiritual education in their homes, which means they are shaping their values based on their peers and the media.

Many of LHM’s ministry centers use a program called Project JOEL (Jóvenes con Espíritu Libre, or youth with a free spirit) to address this issue by making a positive impact on youth who may otherwise be influenced in other ways. Using games, sporting events, puppet shows, workshops, and songs, Project JOEL implements Bible studies into schools to share the Gospel with unreached youth. By partnering with the schools, the teachers can reinforce what the young people learn through Project JOEL, which helps make the outreach even more successful.

The program not only impacts the children it is teaching, but the volunteers who are involved as well. Yolanda is a mother of two and an avid supporter of Project JOEL since it started at her children’s school last year. After she completed a training session covering Project’s JOEL’s strategies and available resources, she began consistently volunteering at the school and became so invested in it that she hosted the graduation and end-of-year celebration events.

“I was interested in collaborating to help improve the lives of the children,” she says. “At the same time, my life has been transformed by the Word of God by sharing it with the children through the various talks and teachings. I’m very thankful for being able to volunteer in this work.” u

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Changing Lives through the Power of Radio One afternoon, Carol was driving through western Missouri when she experienced car troubles causing her to pull off to the side of the road. A little while later, a young man named Bobby noticed her pulled over and stopped to offer assistance. They started talking about several topics including life and religion. Bobby shared that he is not religious, which prompted Carol to tell him about The Lutheran Hour and how she listens to it every week. She said he can download the sermons on the podcast app and listen to them whenever he wants. Before they parted ways, Carol gave Bobby her contact information in case he thought of any more questions about their discussion. A couple weeks later, Bobby reached out to Carol and told her that he has started listening to The Lutheran Hour and shared how it has positively impacted his life. u

Baiba is a 30-year-old Latvian woman who is married and the mother of two girls. But her marriage has not always been smooth.

“When I got married, I was very young,” she says. “I thought marriage was a magic wand where everything becomes perfect. Back then, I didn’t realize you have to work on your marriage, build your family step-bystep, and, most of all, be humble.”

One Sunday she came across a program on the radio called “The Little Truths” sponsored by LHM–Latvia that was discussing family

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relationships. As she listened, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing—she started to understand that she had been putting her needs and opinions first.

“To be honest, at first I was very mad,” she says. “As days passed, I kept thinking about the program and wanted to have answers. But it was hard to admit that I had been doing something wrong.”

She looked up the program on the internet and called to ask for more information. LHM staff sent her several brochures about family, relationships, parenting—and building a loving relationship with God. “I still have my ups and downs,” Baiba says. “But I have peace and strength in my heart that I haven’t known before. I know now that I’m not a failure or a bad wife. I am human—a human loved by God!” u Unwanted by his father, Marcos has known rejection and pain from a young age. Heartache continued once he married and had children. One son died young, while another departed the family for another country.

The family hasn’t heard from him in a long time. Marcos’ wife sank into deep depression and turned to alcohol for comfort. Treatment for her addiction was unsuccessful and she soon passed away.

Yet Marcos’ heartache continued with the worst ordeal a parent can know: his daughter died, leaving behind a son and daughter. Both children were orphans before their fifth birthdays. Marcos’ life hit rock bottom. He struggled alone. Without a church, he had no place to look for answers. Fearing he couldn’t be the grandfather his grandchildren needed him to be, Marcos prepared to give them up for adoption.

Then, while listening to the radio, Marcos heard a radio spot from LHM–Paraguay. Desperate for help, he contacted the ministry staff.

As they shared Christ’s love with him, Marcos grew hopeful … and decided to keep his grandchildren in his care.

Working through the LHM staff and its radio programming, the Holy Spirit brought Marcos restoration. Today, he lives with his daughters— and grandchildren—in the town of Pirayú. u

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Sharing the Gospel with People Who Don’t Know Jesus

63-year-old Lemby is married with eight children. He is one of the Malaso (cattle rustlers) who go to faraway villages in Madagascar in groups of around 10 to ravage other people’s cows so they could bring back food for the women and children at home. While his group usually got what they were hunting for, he believed they were also wasting their time to earn money for worshipping evils. Lemby later became the group leader, but soon got terribly sick and had to stay back at home. Around this time, he felt that God was talking to him to surrender his life but he didn’t want to hear God’s voice.

LHM–Madagascar staff met Lemby and his family shortly thereafter when they visited his home village. They were sharing God’s love for the villagers when Lemby stood up and announced that he wanted to know more about Jesus the Savior and was willing to trust in Him through the power of God’s Word. “I tried many things and worshipped evils for a long time but never saw any changes in my family’s life. Let me join you and I hope God will help me to change my life,” he said. The next morning, Lemby and his family attended a local worship service and were among 143 people baptized on that Sunday, including many of his fellow rustlers and their families. u

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Htay is 29 years old and works as a lawyer and photographer. She grew up practicing a nonChristian religion, but when she was in law school, she started to listen to Christian radio programs. One day, she heard an LHM–Myanmar program. She began listening to the broadcast regularly and would send LHM staff an email to follow up after each one with what she learned. After a couple years of communicating by email, she visited the LHM office. She asked the staff many questions about Christianity and they talked with her about faith. She was brought to faith in Christ by the power of God’s Spirit but did not share that with anyone since her family was not accepting of Christianity. She began going to church in a town far from where she lived, was baptized in that church, and has now started sharing information about Jesus and the Gospel with her family members. Recently, her family started allowing members of her church into their home and her father has started to read LHM booklets. Htay prays her family will one day become Christian through the power of the Holy Spirit. u

Lumduan is a 19-year-old college student. She comes from a nonChristian household and was very shy, lacked confidence in herself, and was generally discouraged with her life. One day, she attended a film show hosted by LHM–Laos and it immediately changed her life. She watched a movie about Jesus and afterward LHM staff talked to her and shared more about Jesus and how He came to earth. Lumduan began to understand God’s love and was brought to faith in Christ by the power of God’s Spirit. She started Bible Correspondence Courses and joined a local church. She is now very happy and has joy in her life because of God. She continues to grow her faith through volunteering for LHM and sharing the Gospel with her friends. u

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Making Connections through the Digital Mission Field

Stella came across a Facebook ad from THRED while she was scrolling through her news feed one day. She was interested in the concept of THRED, but did not have a relationship with Jesus, so she commented on the ad asking if Jesus really is who He says He is. A THRED community member communicated with her through private messages and sent her Project Connect booklets to help answer some of her questions about Jesus. Through reading some LHM booklets, and communicating with a THRED community member, Stella is working toward a relationship with Jesus. Since she started her spiritual journey with the Facebook ad, Stella has moved along the Spiritual Conversation Curve from receptive to seeking. u

Vivenciar.net is a safe place for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking non-believers to get help from others when facing a hardship or trial in life. Through Vivenciar, LHM builds relationships with people which ultimately builds trust. When the timing is right, LHM can then offer resources to help these individuals start or grow their faith. While staff is based in Latin America, people from more than 40 countries are coming to Vivenciar to seek spiritual help and direction while dealing with issues such as stress, anxiety, fear, loneliness, pornography, guilt, losses, addiction, and others.

The platform offers the opportunity for people to connect from everywhere, 24/7, for interactions on their topic of choice—and

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it has connected with people from beyond Central and South America in places like China, Japan, Ukraine, Ireland, Italy, Angola, Spain, and many other places around the world. The content allows staff to connect with people like Maria, a woman in her thirties, who wrote: “Help, please, I don’t know what to do! I am feeling very bad! ... I feel much guilt and feel myself dirty … I don’t want to get apart from God, but I feel that I have done wrong, and I don’t deserve anything from God … Please, I have trust in you, so please help me!” After a month of online interactions with our team, sharing the love of Christ in the Gospel, she wrote: “Thank you for being here (on the Vivenciar platform) for me. I appreciate it very much! You have been a great blessing in my life!” u

The Middle East and North Africa has the youngest population in the world, many who feel hopeless because of political turmoil, social instability, and high unemployment. Social media allows LHM to offer hope to people who may not know another Christian and often have no opportunity to hear the Word of God … from the comfort and safety of their own homes. While some of the people drop off when they realize we are openly discussing our Christian faith, many others, through the Holy Spirit, are intrigued and continue the dialogue. Jamal lives in Morocco and came across LHM’s regional Facebook page. After reading several of the posts he reached out to LHM staff and shared that he had been bothered and stressed lately about his faith and was uncertain of God’s love for him. Over the course of about six weeks, LHM staff members answered many questions and sent him several related booklets. As they built a more trusting relationship, Jamal asked to speak to the staff by phone and they began having more regular conversations.

During one call, Jamal said the Holy Spirit was working in his heart and asked the LHM staff to pray with him as he asked God to strengthen him and his newfound faith in Jesus. u

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9% - ADMINISTRATION

5% - TENANT RENT

17% - FUND DEVELOPMENT

Consolidated Operating

OR

T

Income

R

PP

Y

Expenses IS

I 71% - M

N

U

T

3% TENANT SERVICES

Consolidated Operating

95

% - DONO

R

S

International Lutheran Laymen’s League and Subsidiaries Consolidating Statement of Activities (in thousands) Year ended May 31, 2019, with comparative totals for 2018 INT’L LUTHERAN LAYMEN’S LEAGUE

LHM FOUNDATION

2019 CONSOLIDATED TOTALS

2018 CONSOLIDATED TOTALS

$27,994 1,427 232 29,653

$1,575 (280) 1,295

$29,569 1,427 (48) 30,948

$31,038 1,369 2,247 34,654

OPERATING EXPENSES Ministries 23,842 Building tenant services 975 Administration and Fundraising 8,852 Operating Expenses 33,669

81 81

23,842 975 8,933 33,750

24,021 877 7,559 32,457

(4,016)

1,214

(2,802)

2,197

Endowment and other fund distributions

1,510

(1,510)

-

-

Change in Net Assets

(2,506)

(296)

(2,802)

2,197

Net Assets, Beginning of Year 30,121 Net Assets, End of Year $27,615

18,584 $18,288

48,705 $45,903

46,508 $48,705

OPERATING SUPPORT AND REVENUE Donor support Building tenant rent Other income, net Operating income

Operating Income in Excess of Expenses

Lutheran Hour Ministries is the registered d/b/a name for the International Lutheran Laymen’s League.

A copy of the full audit report is available online at lhm.org/report.

The LHM Board of Directors and The Lutheran Hour Ministries Foundation want to thank you for being part of the LHM family in 2019. The work that we are blessed to do is only possible because of God’s grace and the tens of thousands of passionate lay members and volunteers who partner with this ministry every day. Please continue to remember us in your prayers as we work to discern and follow the Lord’s guidance for LHM.

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LHM Board of Directors (As of December 2019)

CHAIRMAN Phillip Johnson

VICE CHAIRMAN Gene Partlow

SECRETARY Janice Wendorf

TREASURER Jack Ficken

Lonsdale, Minnesota

Williamsburg, Virginia

Neenah, Wisconsin

Fairview, Tennessee

DIRECTORS

Richard “Dick” Gast

Leonard Pranschke

Canyon Lake, California

St. Louis, Missouri

Gretchen Jameson

Robert “Bob” Rauscher

Muskego, Wisconsin

Scottsdale, Arizona

Jonathan Laabs

Edith Schoepp

Roselle, Illinois

Onoway, Alberta, Canada

Michael “Mick” Onnen

Kurt Senske

Stanton, Nebraska

Austin, Texas

Karen Soeken Ellicott City, Maryland

Douglas Werth Arrington, Tennessee

The Lutheran Hour Ministries Foundation (As of December 2019)

OFFICERS Phil Daniels

Jeffrey Craig-Meyer

Loren Podoll

Lois Engfehr

Chairman

President

Secretary

Assistant Secretary

Chesterfield, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

Brian Mitchell

Rev. Jay DeBeir

David Lanius

Vice Chairman

Vice President

Treasurer

Lee’s Summit, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

Riverton, Wyoming

Collinsville, Illinois

St. Louis, Missouri

TRUSTEES Kurt Buchholz

Phillip Johnson

Lloyd Probasco

LHM President & CEO

Int’l LLL Chairman of the Board

Lincoln, Nebraska

Grant, Minnesota

Lonsdale, Minnesota

Glenn Gerber

Kelly Keithly

Katy, Texas

Yuma, Arizona

Mercedes Hendricks

John “Jack” Kidwell

Laguna Hills, California

Bay City, Michigan

Scott Homan

Lee Kucker

St. Louis, Missouri

Oakdale, California

Lynn Scudieri Naples, Florida

Jane Wittlinger Longboat Key, Florida

Douglas Werth Board of Directors Representative Arrington, Tennessee

David Leege Alexandria, Virginia

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