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President
- Ila Klion
Ila, a native South-Floridian,
came to River
of Grass Unitarian Universalist Congregation with her husband, Steven
Nadekow, and their two sons, Matthew (now 14) and Eric (now 10), in
2000, looking for a religious home for her inter-faith family.
Ila quickly became involved at River of Grass; in her first year of
membership she was not only appointed chairperson of the Adult
Religious Education Committee, but also found herself a member of the
congregation’s Canvass Committee, which she co-chaired a year
later.
A graduate of Florida Leadership School in 2002, Ila has
served on the
River of Grass Board of Trustees as Secretary (1 year), Vice-President
(2 years), and is currently President of the Board. Ila feels
blessed to have been able to contribute to the congregation’s
leadership during this time.
On a “larger” scale, Ila has been a delegate at both the
Florida
District Annual Assembly and the UUA General Assembly, has participated
in the Congregation President programs offered at General Assembly, and
has recently attended “UU University.” Ila also serves the
Florida District Unitarian Universalist Association on the District
Board as a “Board of Director at Large.”
In her “spare” time, Ila is employed full-time as a
Visiting Professor
of Law at Florida International University’s College of Law, located in
Miami. She is also involved with both of her sons’ schools, and
prides herself on being a “Band Mom” and “Karate Mom.”
President@riverofgrass.org
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Vice
President - Nancy
Scarnecchia
Nancy
found River of Grass ten years ago when
searching for a spiritual path for her two boys, Ryan and Alex. Not
having been
raised in any denomination and feeling the lack of "spiritual
grounding," she wanted something different for her children. After
visiting several different churches and faiths, Nancy walked into a
River of
Grass Service and knew immediately she had found that indefinable
"something" she was searching for. “If you
had ever told me that as an adult I would be
attending religious
services every week, I would never have believed you, but Unitarian
–Universalism in general, and River of Grass in particular, are very
much my
spiritual home now. I can’t imagine life without either.”
Nancy is a commercial insurance agent and
lives in Hollywood with her sons.
VP@riverofgrass.org
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Secretary
- Esther
Sampol
Esther
and her life partner, Marjie, began their journey with a commitment
ceremony at
the Unitarian Universalist Church in Berkeley, California.
They have three grown children, one
grandchild, and share their home with three cats. Having found
Unitarian
Universalism late in life, Esther shares, “I have been a Unitarian
Universalist
for most of my adult life - I just didn’t know it!”
Today, she finds that River of Grass is an
integral part of her spiritual journey. Besides being on the board,
Esther
co-facilitates a covenant group, is involved in service and social
justice
activities, and is a member of the Full Moon Daughters small group
ministry.
During the day, Esther can be found at a local University where she
teaches
English and mentors students.
Secretary@riverofgrass.org
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| Treasurer
- Michael Richardson
Michael,
a native of Louisville, Kentucky, is single and a relative newcomer to
Unitarian Universalism. After searching
for a spiritual home for himself and his 15 year old son Shane, he says
he was
happy to have found his church family at River of Grass, and joined in
April
2006. He also has a 24 year old son, Stephen, and a 23 year old
daughter,
Melissa. His vocation has included
various retail positions and he’s currently employed as the Director of
Wholesale Planning at a designer clothing company.
As a hobby, he teaches part time at the
university level and takes great pride in mentoring young people. He currently serves as treasurer for the
congregation and is the coordinator for our got hope, got love, got joy
t-shirts and hats.
Treasurer@riverofgrass.org
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Trustees
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Ken
Bresnahan
Ken and
his wife Leana were married in 1980 by Tulsa All Souls
Unitarian
Universalist Church Minister John Wolff. Several
years later they moved to California,
joined the Unitarian
Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula, and have been active
Unitarian
Universalists since. Ken served on
Unitarian Universalist congregation boards in Monterey and Manassas
Virginia
before arriving in South Florida in 1997, just in time to join a
visionary
group of Unitarian Universalists establish River of Grass in West
Broward. Ken has served on and chaired the
Worship
Committee, taught Religious Education, served on the Welcoming
Congregation
Committee, took great minutes as Board Secretary, co-hosted a covenant
group,
served on the Interim Transition and the Settled Minister Search
committees,
and is now back on the Board of Trustees.
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Karen Morris
Karen, a
second generation native of South Florida, first came to River of Grass
more than 4 years ago when she was helping her sister search for a
religious home for her two small children. A friend suggested they try
River of Grass. “I consider it a very lucky, fateful
day.” Since joining, Karen has served as a Religious Education
teacher; worked with the Service & Social Justice to help organize
blood donations, served on the Interim Minister’s Committee and most
recently, as Co-Chair of the Membership Committee. Karen works
for a local beverage manufacturer.
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Judi
Oltmans
Judi
and her two children, Michael and Sara, are charter members of River of
Grass.
She is currently a member of the Choir, and has served as a long term
Religious
Education teacher and as a member of the Nominating Committee. Helping
the
community is an important part of her spiritual life and along with
members of
her family, has participated in many of the Service Committee and Green
Committee projects over the years. Judi is employed as a media
specialist at an
area high school.
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Paula Rabinowitz
Paula
and her husband Frank have been members of River of Grass for almost
four
years. Empty nesters, together they have five children and six
grandchildren.
For the past three years Paula has enjoyed working with our youth in
various
Religious Education programs, and for the past two years has served as
Chair of
our Religious Education Committee. She also sat on the Search Committee
that
found our new Director of Faith Development. Paula is a retired teacher
and
respiratory therapist.
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