Board of Directors

The Reverend Bryan C. Childress – attended King College and Union Theological Seminary. Was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1955. He has served churches in Gilbert, WV and Smyth County, Carroll County, Floyd County and Patrick County, VA. Although retired, he continues to supply two churches, Buffalo Mountain Presbyterian Church and Indian Valley Presbyterian Church.

Stewart L. Childress – a 1974 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, he was awarded the James Maxwell and State Cadet Scholarships. He has 22 years of progressive and diversified corporate management experience with a national company. Stewart served on the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Traffic League from 1998-2001 and "retired" from the U.S. Army Reserves at the rank of Major. He is a lay minister and an ordained ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a member of the session of the Mayberry Presbyterian Church.

The Reverend George C. Goodman - an ordained Presbyterian minister and Associate Presbyter of the Presbytery of the Peaks (responsible for overseeing the mission and government of app. 150 churches). George was a Keynote Speaker and Seminar Leader at the popular Wee Kirk Conference held at Montreat Conference Center in October of 2000.

Dr. Donald C. Nance – completed his undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina in 1958. He graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1961 and in 1973 earned a Doctorate of Ministry degree. He has served churches in Halifax County, VA, Kannapolis, NC, and Graham, NC. He has been Executive Presbyter, Stated Clerk, and Treasurer of Abingdon Presbytery (responsible for overseeing the mission and government of app. 55 churches) since 1988.

James P. Neal – a 1960 graduate of the University of Illinois, he retired from Du Pont after 30 years as a project engineer. Jim held various elected public offices from 1973-1994, serving the last fourteen years as a Delaware State Senator. He has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations and has served as either President or Treasurer of each. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Newark, DE and was an active ruling elder from 1970-1973.

Shannon C. Vivier – a 1999 magna cum laude graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, she was the recipient of the Hamilton-Field Scholarship for two consecutive years. She was nominated as sophomore student of the year by the department faculty and was the student winner of the 1999 Richmond Magazine’s Winning Designers Contest (it is interesting to note that the project she entered happened to be a renovation of the Buffalo Mountain Mission Schoolhouse – copy attached). Shannon is employed by BCWH, a Richmond based architectural firm that specializes in designing primary and secondary educational facilities.