Congregational United Church of Christ, Punta Gorda

Melissa Stoehr Brown

Moderator

Melissa was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was baptized, confirmed and married at Zion UCC.  She married her husband Steve in 1979, and the next day, they moved to New York City, adopting the Big Apple as their workplace and playground.  After 13+ years in the New York City area, they landed in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  On a very chilly October day in 2015, they left the "Mitten State" and are thoroughly embracing life in Punta Gorda.

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Melissa enjoys playing bridge, reading, cooking, wining and dining, golfing, traveling (Steve is a travel agent) and—especially!-- serving as accompanist to the church choir. 

Kathy Frantish

Clerk

Kathy was born in Rochester, New York, and called Palmyra, a small town about 25 miles east of Rochester, her home.  After attending college in New York, she worked for 17 years as an IBM Systems Administrator at the United Way of Greater Rochester, which is where she met her husband, Ron.  Deciding that they had both seen enough snow for a lifetime, they moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina, where she worked as IBM Systems Manager at Global Software, Inc., for 21 years, retiring in 2018.  Kathy now calls Punta Gorda home and enjoys volunteering at Sallie Jones Elementary School, being active in her community HOA, and being close to family.  Volunteering for the Assistant Clerk position on the Leadership Team completes her time.

Bill Colson

Assistant Clerk

William C. (Bill) Colson, is a resident of Burnt Store Colony.   Bill has three adult children:  two daughters living in Gilbert, Arizona, and a son (and two grandsons) living in Madison, Indiana.

He moved to Florida in 2015, from Clay Center, Nebraska.  Shortly after his arrival in Florida, he became an active member of our congregation.  He is currently serving as Assistant Clerk, having most recetly served as Moderator of the Leadership Team, and, prior to that, as Assistant Treasurer.  He is also in the choir.

Prior to moving to Nebraska, Bill lived in and around Madison in southeastern Indiana for 20 plus years. He attended and worshiped with several Disciples of Christ churches, but principally with Madison’s First Christian Church (DOC). There, he taught adult Sunday School and served as Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer, Board Vice Chair and Chair, as well as an elder of the congregation.  While in Nebraska, he was a member of the Hastings Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where he taught an adult Sunday School class. He was also an elder of the church and member of the church board.  Later, he joined the Clay Center United Church of Christ, where he taught an adult Sunday School class and sang in the choir. Also while in Nebraska, Bill served six years as Treasurer of a local Gideon’s International camp.

Michael Robinson

Treasurer

Dick Michael

Assistant Treasurer

Bil Tucker

Endowment Team Lead

Isaac James

Discipleship Lead

Elden Wick

Stewardship Lead

Elden is an engineer with degrees from the University of Cincinatti (BS Electrical Engineering), Wright State (MS Biomedical/Systems Engineering), and The Ohio State University (Graduate Studies).  He was an avionics/system engineer for the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, for 31 years.  During the next 17 years, he created and managed Wickee Biomedical Engineering.  Before moving to Florida, he and his wife Diane gave Arizona a try but they now divide their time between Punta Gorda; Alpharetta, Georgia; and Charlotte, North Carolina (home of granddaughters Olivia and Grace).  Both Elden and Diane are members of the choir.  Elden is also an active member of our Social Justice Ministry.  In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, boating, hunting, sports, visual and performing arts, latch-hooking, and quilting.