Mid King County Chapter

Four page newsletter: 2007 Biographies

Four page newsletter: 2007 Biographies

Mid King County Chapter, 2007 Election Nominees and Biographies

Nominee for President: Mae Tacke

Mae resides in Des Moines, Washington (resident since July, 2002) and is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, in Des Moines.
Current Professional Experience:
o Office Manager, Evergreen Lutheran High School, Des Moines, Washington
o Technology Coordinator, Evergreen Lutheran High School
o Computer Instructor, Evergreen Lutheran High School
o Accountant/bookkeeper, Evergreen Lutheran High School
Past Professional Experience:
o Contracted Database Manager for chapter set-up, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
o Self-employed consultant in the areas of accounting, management and communications
o Coordinating Assistant to the Licensure Committee & Executive Secretary to the Licensure Officer, Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minnesota – Successfully applied for approval for State of Minnesota Licensure for teacher candidates
o Administrative Assistant (7 yrs)/Accounting Coordinator, St. John’s Lutheran, New Ulm, MN
o Administrative Assistant to Development Officer, Evergreen Luth. High School, Des Moines, WA
o Business Manager for self-employed artist, husband
o Assistant Coordinator/Convention Manager for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod National Literacy Conventions (1992, 1994)
o Financial Secretary (2 yrs); Executive Assistant (3 yrs); Interim Development Officer, Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School, New Ulm, Minnesota
Current Volunteer Experience:
o Stewardship Committee, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Washington
Past Volunteer Experience:
o Member of New Ulm Human Rights Commission, New Ulm, Minnesota
o Set-up Coordinator/Advisor to two Lutheran Brotherhood Affinity Branches
o President of Lutheran Brotherhood Branch #8083, New Ulm, Minnesota (10 years)
o Member of Lutheran Brotherhood Agency Advisory Board, Minnesota
o Delegate to the Lutheran Brotherhood General Convention, September 2001
o President of AAL Branch, St. John’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
o Member of Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School ‘Mission with a Vision for Life’ capital campaign steering committee (2 yrs), Finance Committee (9 yrs)
o Volunteer Manager (5 yrs), Treasurer (9 yrs) of Treasure Haus, Inc. (resale shop), New Ulm, Minnesota
o Treasurer, Southwest Minnesota Reading Council
o Start-up Board and Treasurer of Oak Hills Auxiliary, Oak Hills Living Center, New Ulm, Minnesota – Successfully applied for 501(c) 3 status on the first try
o Organist and choir director, Lutheran School classroom aide, school librarian (various locations)
Education:
o Wisconsin State College, River Falls, Wisconsin - General education and emphasis on science and math
o Various workshops on computer software, communications and management
o Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota – BS Degree-Accounting & Business Management
o Courses in On-line Learning, Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minnesota
Personal : Married; Four Children; Washington resident as of July 2002

Nominee Vice President: Rev. Neal Schroeder

Neal Schroeder (WELS) has been pastor of Divine Peace Lutheran Church in Renton since 1985, and also pastor of Snoqualmie Valley Lutheran Church for the past dozen years. Before this, he served in Monroe, Michigan and LaCrosse, Wisconsin, after first teaching for a year at Huron Valley Lutheran High School in Westland, Michigan. He is a member of the WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations, for which he is the contact person with Eastern Europe. He has been a member of AAL (now Thrivent Financial) since his early childhood.

Nominee Financial Director: Elva Schulz

Elva is a longtime member of Cross and Crown Lutheran Church in Renton, and served there as congregational Coordinator for three years before being elected to this position in 2006. Elva keeps the books in good order. She is also involved in many activities in the church and community, like committees, Bible studies, church services, volunteers at Valley Medical Center and elections. I would like to be help people in need in our community.

Nominee Records Director: Maralee Schmidt

Maralee is a member of Lutheran Church of the Cross in Kent, and in 2005 and 2006 served as Congregational Service Team Director. Coordinator. She previously served as Congregational Coordinator and is looking forward to a new role in serving on the board.

Nominee Congregational Service Team Director: Karen Hunziker

Karen is a member of King of Kings Lutheran in Renton and has served as Congregational Coordinator there. She is seeking her first year as Congregational Service Team Director, and personally enjoys working with preschool funding activities.

Nominee Community Service Team Director: Roger Ahrnkiel

Roger became involved with AAL in 1965, and has continued with Thrivent Financial since it’s beginning. He began volunteering for AAL in the early eighties, and was Chapter 6155 Chair for several years. Some projects he worked on included helping hands projects, campfire breakfasts for the whole church with the help of other AAL members, and he organized, setup and cleaned up after several parking lot sales, held for the purpose of raising funds to help people in need.

Roger was Church of The Cross church president, as well as president of its mission congregation, Peace Lutheran in Covington. He retired from a very interesting job designing cutting tools to do volunteer work several days each week at The StoreHouse Food Bank. He also cooks breakfast for homeless men in Kent several days a month and works on projects at Peace Lutheran such as painting the outside of the church and helping remodel an old house for class rooms.

Roger says, ”My reason for volunteering is to glorify God for giving my family and me all the gifts we don’t deserve. Everything we have is a gift from God and for that I am very grateful.
I want to learn more about Thrivent Financial leadership in order help make programs run smoother. I feel that the more people understand how benevolent programs work the easier it can be to get more volunteers. It is very hard to get anyone to get on board when they don’t know what the destination is going to be.”

Nominee Youth Director: Josh Traxel

Joshua is in his second year of pre-seminary studies at Concordia University in Portland, OR and is in his third year serving Thrivent Financial as the Youth Director. He is actively seeking ways to involve youth in service in God’s kingdom through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. His home congregation is Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Bellevue. On the rare occasions he puts Greek books down, he serves doing some field experience at Zion Lutheran Church in downtown Portland, and enjoys reading and watching the Seattle Seahawks.

Nominee Events Director: Dianne Green

Dianne is a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Des Moines, and has served two years as the Chapter Events Director. She arranges the annual picnic for the chapter, and enjoys traveling and working with her husband in many volunteer activities

Please Vote for This Year's Leadership Board

As a membership organization, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is unique to the financial services world in many ways. Our members choose who will represent them on the national board of directors governing the organization as well as choose their local chapter leadership board.

The election process is a very important way for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to demonstrate two required elements of a fraternal benefit society:

1. An active, viable chapter system that involves many members
2. A representative form of government.

Without this election process, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans would not qualify as a tax-exempt fraternal benefit society and would not be able to provide the benefits to needy individuals, congregations and communities that it does today.

Please exercise your right to vote in your Mid King County Chapter's leadership board election.

CHAPTER LEADER VOTING MUST BE DONE IN PERSON AT THE CHAPTER LEADER ELECTION MEETING. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Voters Invitation Lists Dates, Sites, and Contact Information

If you haven't already received your invitation to participate in the Chapter Leadership Board Elections, you'll be receiving a flyer soon. If you have any questions on the elections, contact your Congregational Coordinators, or contact Loral Pritchett, 206-878-6757, MKCC Vice President and elections coordinator.

Here are the sites and dates for elections:

October 1: Light of LIfe in Maple Valley and Peace Lutheran in Covington

October 8: Cross and Crown, King of Kings, and Divine Peace in Renton

October 15: Lutheran Church of the Cross in Kent

October 22: Grace Lutheran in Des Moines

October 29: Resurrection Lutheran and Holy Trinity Lutheran in Des Moines

For members, by members:

This newsletter was written and edited by volunteer leaders of your local Thrivent Financial for Lutherans chapter to keep you informed of chapter news. If you have any questions and/or comments about the content of this newsletter or would like to learn more about chapter activities being planned in your area, please contact one of your chapter leaders. To access your chapter leader contact information, go to www.thrivent.com; Members/Chapters; Information About My Chapter; View Leadership/Activities/Website; Chapter Leadership Board.