2025 Pastor Nominating Committee
On Sunday, January 12, the Congregation elected the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) that will recommend a candidate for Co-Pastor who will transition to Head of Staff. Thank you to all who submitted nominations and to the 2024 Nominating Committee: Eleanor VanDeventer, Chair, Dr. Michael Nenaber, Brad Steller, Dr. Alan Stutz, Carolyn Swanson, Julie Sundquist, and Bernie Wiseman. PNC members are:
M. Brownell (Brownie) Anderson grew up at Westminster and returned to Springfield following her retirement. She completed her undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis and her master’s degree at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Brownie’s career in medical education began at SIU School of Medicine, then she spent 30 years at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C. and 10 years at the National Board of Medical Examiners in Philadelphia. She worked nationally and internationally with medical schools, teaching hospitals, and ministries of health and education. Brownie is an elder at Westminster and recently served as co-moderator of PW.
George Botanga is a Clinical Engineer with BCJ Healthcare at Memorial Hospital. He previously worked with G. E. Healthcare at Silver Cross Hospital. George grew up Presbyterian in Cameroon, Africa and moved to the United States in 2009 where he lived in Chicago with his older brother, Dr. Chris Botanga, and earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from DeVry University. He joined Westminster in 2019 and serves on the Board of Deacons.
Dr. Scott Day is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Scott teaches advanced wheel throwing at the Springfield Art Association. At Westminster, Scott is an elder, chair of the Worship, Music, and Arts Committee, co-chair of the Landscape Committee, and a member of the Memorial Garden Committee. He also currently serves as an Elder Commissioner of the Presbytery of Great Rivers. He and his wife of 40 years, Susan, sing in the Westminster Choir. He has two children, Spencer Day and Maggie Pinke and two grandchildren, Arthur and Robin Pinke.
Dr. Todd Knox is a retired anesthesiologist who practiced at Memorial Hospital. He was raised in the Mennonite Brethren Church in California and has embraced Westminster as his home church for 30 plus years. He served as chair of the Strategic Planning Committee from 2019-2022. Under his leadership, the Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor was initiated which included both a Site and Landscape Plan and a Neighborhood Outreach. Todd has led the Steadfast Neighbor Service Week and Matching Grant program from 2020-2024. He and his wife Judy, a dermatologist, have raised their three children, Greg, Natalie, and Matthew, at Westminster.
Christy Pound has served as a leader of her family farming operation, Grigsby Farm, since 2012. Christy worked for the Illinois Commerce Commission for 18 years leaving full-time state employment in 2017. Christy has a B.S. in Business Administration from Erskine College in Due West, SC. At Westminster, Christy serves on the Support and Endowment Committee and Personnel Committee (which she chaired from 2022-2024). She and her husband Karl were married at Westminster in 1998. They have two sons, Avery, a senior at Cornell University, and Bryce, a sophomore at Penn State University.
Lucy Stafford was baptized in WPC, confirmed and has been a lifelong member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Lucy has served as an elder and currently serves on the Support and Endowment Committee. Her husband John joined WPC in 2016 and he also served as an elder. Lucy graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. She also holds a Master’s in accounting from UIS. Since graduating college, Lucy’s professional career focused on the family hardware businesses which, until their recent sale, served multiple communities across central Illinois. With the recent sale of the business, Lucy enjoys spending more time with family, racing her horses cross country, and assisting John in reclaiming the natural prairie grasses and forbs that once dominated central Illinois.
Greg Swanson is an architect for the Capital Development Board. A graduate of the Champaign-Urbana campus of University of Illinois, he has held several roles on the Springfield section board of the American Institute of Architects including Secretary, Vice-President and President. Greg joined Westminster with his family in the late 1990’s and served one year as a youth elder and three years as a deacon. He and his wife, Megan, were married in 2009 and attended a Lutheran Church. Their daughter, Lily, was born in 2011. Greg, Megan and Lily joined Westminster in 2021, and Greg serves as an elder on Session.
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Jess Weitzel works as a community development finance professional supporting affordable housing, small businesses, and community-focused real estate projects. She grew up in Springfield and received a B.A.L.A.S. in Political Science and French Studies from the University of Illinois followed by an M.S. in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas. Jess serves on the Springfield Urban League Board of Directors. She married her wife, Kayla, in 2016 and they welcomed their daughter, Ryan, into the world in 2022. Jess served on the Board of Deacons and co-chairs the Refugee Committee. |