Bethany Birches Camp Leadership Bios
BOARD of DIRECTORS |
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Kevin Cox - President Hartland, VT Kevin attended State University of New York at Albany where he received his Bachelors in European History and Secondary Education. He also studied leadership at Fuller Seminary. Kevin and his wife Karen have been married for 24 years and have 5 children. They pioneered the ministry of Young Life in VT & NH after leaving a family hotel business. In addition to serving as Area Director during his tenure with Young Life, Kevin was the Chairman for the Property Committee at Saranac Village, Young Life's Adirondack Great CAmp and then was appointed Director of Development for the camps $1.9 million dollar campaign in 1999. After leaving Young Life, he was the founding Executive Director for Connecticut River Transit. |
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Philip Lapp - Treasurer South Royalton, VT Phil is married to Denise Hershey and they have two children. Denise has been involved with Bethany Birches (BBC) since the early days, as a camper, cook and counselor. Annabel (their oldest) has attended BBC since 2007. Phil is a partner with Gallagher, Flynn & Co., LLP, the largest public accounting and consulting firm in Vermont. Phil is a graduate of Goshen College and also did post-baccalaureate studies at Portland State University. In addition to his work on the BBC Board he joins the boards of the Hanover, NH Chamber of Commerce and Delta Dental of VT. When not working, Phil spends time canoeing, kayaking and doing construction on and around their house. Phil joins us on the board "to help a great long-standing organization continue to createa a place for kids to experience the fun and love of this world." He hopes campers will "have the experience at camp that helps shape their lives now and far into the future." |
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Naomi and son Sam |
Naomi Moyer - Secretary Plymouth, VT Naomi is married to Steve Moyer and they have one son. Steve's parents Lloyd and Alice Moyer were the founders of Bethany Birches Camp. Naomi works as a nurse at Dartmouth Hitchcock in the Quality Improvement & Patient Safety Department. 1972 was the year Naomi first saw the camp. Living in Arizona at the time, she remembers going back from VT and having the panoramic view from camp etched in her mind. She loved the setting, the location and the style of camping, especially the focus on basics and relationships. She came back as a counselor in 1974 and again in 1982. When she's not in the board room or working the garden at camp, she is usually doing something outside, from hiking to cross-country skiing. She enjoys working with herbs, chickens, reading, knitting and sewing too. Naomi believes that "children are the future" and she wants to "invest in them in a positive way." |
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Jeff Rosenberger Souderton, PA Jeff spends most of his days on a farm as an inspector for Dairy Marketing Services. Sometimes he spends time on his own farm... well, it's actually an Apple Orchard. Prior to this he was plant manager at Rosenberger's Dairies. Married to Jane they have three children, three in-laws and four grand children, although that number may have changed when you read this! Jeff learned to love the camp in the 1980's when his family used the Bethany Birches Cabin to ski Okemo and Killington. More recently he's been giving a lot of time as a volunteer. |
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Scott Hepler Plymouth, VT Scott is married to Marcia Bender, daughter of Nevin who helped found the camp and develop the core program in the 60's and 70's. In addition to building his own house, repairing carburetors and having the ability to fix or repair almost anything given a little time, Scott is a system administrator and web developer. Scott can be seen around camp, helping to install something new or fix something old. He and Marcia have two children, Anna and Calef. Anna has loved camp for a few years and Calef recently started coming. |
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Dave Ross Essex Junction, VT Dave grew up in Woodstock, VT, attending the First Congregational Church of Woodstock. He currently live in Essex Junction, VT and works for Gardener's Supply Company. He attends Christ Memorial Church in Essex. He's been involved with camp in various roles for most of his life and strongly believes that the mission of the camp is vital in our very secular region of the country. In fact, now that Dave is on the board, he has been almost everything a person can be to camp. He's been a camper, a staff member, a volunteer, a donor and now a board member. Only unfilled role for him is a camper parent. When not working or at camp he spends most of his time playing ultimate frisbee, hiking, or riding bike. |
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Tom Emery Woodstock, VT Tom and his wife Cindy live with their four children, Rachael, Isaac, Audrey, and Asher, in Woodstock, Vermont. He received a Master of Education degree from the University of Vermont and is currently a special educator and director of an alternative education program for Woodstock Union Middle & High School. Tom has been involved in ministry for the past 10 years working with the youth in his local church, Young Life, and currently as a board member at BBC. He is also a volunteer fireman. |
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Sandy Soho Windsor, VT Sandy is married to Greg Soho and they are the parents of 4 children. They are active members of Old South Church in Windsor, VT. They adopted their second son and for many years were actively involved with groups in the Upper Valley adoption community. Sandy has spoken about her experience as an adoptive mother at seminars for people interested in adoption and also worked one year for the Vermont Children’s Aid Society as a trainer teaching medical providers to include adoption as an option when discussing unplanned pregnancies with patients. In addition to this she is involved with the Selamta Family Project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the day, she works as Program Director for Clinical Research Training and Outreach at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Sandy writes "Bethany Birches has become a special place to the Soho family. It is a unique place where our children can be untethered from electronics and spend time learning about who they are, developing friendships and having a better understanding of what it means to be a Christian." |
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Matt Maxham Woodstock, VT |
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STAFF DIRECTORS |
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Brandon Bergey - Executive Director Plymouth, VT Tuna (as he's referred to at camp) grew up north of Philadelphia. He spent the beginning and ending years of his childhood there. In between he lived with his family in VA and IN while his dad finished school at EMU and Goshen and AMBS. When it was time for college, Tuna went back to VA to attend college at Eastern Mennonite University. After playing volleyball for EMU, serving as a Community Advisor, spending 3 months in the Middle East, becoming a certified ski instructor, singing in chamber choir and serving as a Senator in the Student Government Association, he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Psychology and Business Administration. After that, he got the call to come to VT. He claims that "the way my faith has been deepened at camp couldn't have happened to this degree elsewhere before the age of 30." He enjoys the variety of experiences working at BBC. Among his favorite are playing group games with campers, website development, mentoring staff, fundraising, vision implementation and general development of what we're doing. |
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Amber Bergey - Program Director Plymouth, VT Cheeks (as she's called here) also grew up north of Philadelphia surrounded on all sides by her loving family (seriously, you should take a trip to Fretz Road. You'll find mostly Landis' - her maiden name). After attending Eastern University in Philadelphia and graduating summa cum laude with a BS in Biokinetics, she headed for VA Beach to pursue her love of athletic training. Taking her MSEd from Old Dominion University left her working in the athletic training field for a few years and summering at BBC as Program Director (PD). When BBC's desire to expand program required a year-round PD, Cheeks agreed to take the job. Now, in her free time she teaches (currently at Community College of VT), skis, bakes, runs, volunteers for Bethany Mennonite Church, and spends her fair share of time on Facebook. Of course she hangs out with her hubby Tuna and takes "every opportunity to play games of every kind with anyone who wants to play." Cheeks started working at camp because it was an opportunity to "play games and talk about God." She continues to enjoy that, seeing campers come back summer after summer and seeing God work in unique ways. |
