Nominations for Elder Class of 2023

Hikie Allen has participated in Decatur Presbyterian Church since birth.
DPC has been a part of his entire family’s life, attending as a child with his
parents and grandparents, his maternal grandmother in the later years of her
life, and then with wife, Mary Ann, and their two children, Liz and Chet.
Four generations of the Allen family have served on the Session, and most
recently, Hikie has served as the Clerk of Session in 2020. Having graduated
from Georgia Tech, (once again, as part of four generations of his family) he
has worked professionally designing and managing operational systems in a
variety of business types, including heavy construction, banking, and
consultation services. He has spent the last 24 years at ISES Corporation, an
engineering consulting firm that specializes in helping colleges and universities plan the capital renewal needs for their facilities. His activities and participation at DPC have been widely varied over the years with the most common thread being the wonderful experience of teaching children’s Sunday School with Mary Ann for over 30 years. Confirmation Sunday has always brought particular joy to the couple, watching the “children” take the next step in their faith journeys.

Jan Bedol joined DPC as a confirmand in 1968. Her mother grew up at
DPC and the family returned to DPC from Covenant Presbyterian when she
was in elementary school. Her service at DPC includes four prior terms as
an Elder, working with children’s ministry, Congregational Care, Worship
Council, College Connections, Threshold, Faith Formation and several
associate pastor nominating committees. Jan teaches high school history
and English at Ben Franklin Academy, adjacent to Emory. She is
passionate about sharing her love of learning with the students and has
found that this small school allows her to do it every day. When she has
free time, she loves making baskets, sewing and traveling. Jan feels blessed that her husband, Gregg, and their daughters, Lacy and Hallie, are active church members. Jan has missed being with her DPC friends at worship, Sunday School and meetings and looks forward to a new year when we can return to normal. She is honored to serve as Elder at DPC again and looks forward “to the challenges God presents us with as we adjust and grow
as a congregation.”

Lee Smith has been a member of Decatur Presbyterian Church for over 50
years. Dr. Davison Philips was the minister when she joined. DPC had a
very active single young adult group at that time under the leadership of
Jimmie and Richard Bird. Lee shares, “I am a retired clinical laboratory
manager with 40 years of service with Quest Diagnostics located in Tucker,
GA. I am single and now living in a retirement community in Grayson, GA.
My 3 nieces and their families all live in the Atlanta area. For the past 3
years I have been and continue to be the Flower Calendar Coordinator and
also a member of the Phone Guild at DPC. I would consider it an honor to
serve on the Session.”

Kris Taylor has been a member at Decatur Presbyterian Church since
1993. Her children, Josh and Caroline, attended Pre-School at the Sycamore
House and then in the Bradley Building. This is what brought her family to
join the Church. Kris has taught Kindergarten Sunday School, Co-Directed
Vacation Bible School, served on the Pastoral Nominating Committee for
the call of The Rev. Dr. Jap Keith and been a Choir Mother assisting
Carolyn Brooks and Lori McMahan. When our Church decided to revamp
our Sunday School curriculum to “Workshop Rotation”, Kris led the artistic renovation of the 3rd floor of the McGeachy building. Recently, she Co-
Chaired the College Connections Committee for 10 years to make sure our congregation is in touch with our College students. Kris says, “It is my privilege to serve on your Session.”

Alice Wichmann shares, “Thomas and I joined DPC in the late 90s, and I
have had numerous opportunities since then to learn from and with so many other DPC members, including Carolyn Brooks, Dave Williams, and Margaret McClaren. Besides weekly worship, my time on Worship Council, a Youth Task Force, the Task Force for Faith Development, the committee organizing the Sacred Arts Festival (2003), and a Youth trip to Honduras (2006) has taught me about DPC’s work. I have especially valued the thought-
provoking weekly lessons and discussions that we have in the Cornerstone Sunday School class, and will do my best on the Session to apply what I have learned, to discerning and implementing God’s will for this congregation. It is an honor to be asked to serve.”

Nominee for Trustee, Class of 2023

Clark Candler shares, “I was born into Decatur Presbyterian Church in
1956, and have remained a member all my life. I am the fifth generation of my family to be a member of DPC. I attended DPC Kindergarten and grew up in the DPC Sunday Schools and Youth Group. After returning from College and Law School, I have served on the Board of Deacons, several terms as an Elder, and two terms as a Trustee. I led the annual Stewardship drive on two separate occasions. I have served on two pastor search committees. My wife
Terri and I taught Sunday School for many years, including second grade for several years, youth group for several years, and finally sixth grade for two years. I have served numerous terms on the Property Committee, Finance Committee, Stewardship Committee, and the Endowment Committee. Terri and I raised our three children in DPC, and I have had one grandchild baptized in DPC, and have two more grandchildren ready for baptism in the next few months (both were born this fall). My daughter Laura and her husband Dan are very active members of DPC and Laura currently serves as an Elder. DPC is a large part of our life, and we look forward to getting back to the Church in person once the Covid issue is resolved.”

To Fill Unexpired Terms in Class of 2021:

Dené Dixon became a DPC member in 2008 when she moved from Florida
with her two daughters. Since joining DPC, she has served one term on Session, served on Nominations Council and Evangelism Council, served on an internship committee, and served on an associate pastor nominating committee. Currently she serves on College Connections, chair of the Children’s Ministry Committee, a second term on Nominations Council, a member of the Friendship class, and enjoys the close community of Faith In Real Life (FIRL). In her free time, Dené enjoys gardening, watching Florida State sports, and volunteering with the City of Decatur and the Pilot Club of Atlanta. She is employed with the McCurdy & Candler law firm and has two college daughters, Braylen and Ansley. She looks forward to serving as a lay leader and listening as God leads.

Suzahn Huffman Donaldson grew up in the Presbyterian Church from the time her family moved to Atlanta when she was an infant and joined Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Attended First Presbyterian Church of Anderson, IN, and met her future husband, Fred Donaldson, in a Sunday school class. After Fred graduated from DePauw University and
Suzahn graduated from Indiana University, they were married at Shades Valley Presbyterian Church in Mountain Brook, AL. Before their only child, Greg, was born, Suzahn worked mostly as a journalist in public television and in print media, including briefly at Emory University when we moved to Atlanta. Found a church home at DPC in 1986 when they bought their house in Decatur. Greg and his wife Mallory have two sons and live in Decatur. She has volunteered as a Sunday school teacher, youth adviser, and church receptionist; served on various committees and councils; and as an elder, chairing, the communications committee and personnel council. Member of
the Friendship Sunday School class and Presbyterian Women. Suzahn says, “I am honored to be nominated again to serve again as an elder of this church and pledge to minister as servant of the people of God.”