Staff Profiles 

Pastor/Head of Staff: Scott Marrese-Wheeler Email

Rev. Scott Marrese-Wheeler serves as the Head of Staff.  A 1985 graduate of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, this is his fourth call joining the ministry team in December 2003.  He is married to the Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler who serves as the Bereavement Coordinator for Ministry Heath Home Care Hospice in Marshfield.  They have a son - Sam.  Scott enjoys reading, following college basketball especially his Indiana Hoosiers, golf, collecting hot sauces (and eating them), and listening to Jimmy Buffet music.

 

Associate Pastor: Cyndy Little Email

Rev. Cyndy Little was born in Temple, Texas, but left there with her mother at the age of 4 months to join her dad who was stationed in Frankfort, Germany. They returned to Dallas, Texas, before she was two. Probably half her life has been spent in Texas and during the other half, she has called places in Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Kentucky and Wisconsin “home.”She has lived in Manitowoc for the last nine years, but prior to that she never stayed at the same address for more than four years. So for Cyndy, home is less about location and more about relationships….      Her husband, Ken, is the opinion page editor for their local paper and a writer of books on personal investing. Between them, they have six children, but only two at home: Joel is a freshman at our two-year college with hopes of attending UW-Whitewater. Their daughter Emma is 10 and a self-described “country girl” who loves nature and exploring the outdoors. Their golden retriever, Andy, is not golden, and doesn’t retrieve, but they love him anyway!   Cyndy is a graduate of Michigan State. After receiving her Master’s in Speech Pathology from the University of Illinois, she worked as a speech pathologist for a number of years. When she couldn’t ignore the call to ministry any longer (that’s another story), she attended Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1998. Cyndy has served in a number of ministry settings and been active in the Presbytery. She loves reading, gardening, walking, and having long conversations with friends over coffee.

 

Administrative Secretary: Harriet Brandt  Email

Harriet Brandt, Administrative Secretary at FPC, has been serving in that position since July 1999. She also held this position at Morrison Academy in Taiwan and at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wausau, WI. She is here to serve and help you in any way that she can.        Harriet and her husband, Bob, have four children and five grandchildren. They enjoy spending as much time with them as they can, as well as gardening and walking.

Business Manager: Ellen Leick  Email

Ellen Leick lives in Stratford with her husband, Pete, who is a dairy farmer.  They have 3 children: Katie, is attending Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and plans on going into advertising when she graduates in May, Jackie, is doing Physician Assistant studies at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Travis, their youngest, will graduate from high school in 2008.  Ellen started working at First Presbyterian Church in January of 2006.  She also works part time for Marshfield Area Habitat for Humanity.

Custodian Coordinator: Dennis Nagel Email

Dennis Nagel is completing his first year as our Maintenance Custodian Coordinator through DASHER Management Service out of Baraboo. He was born and raised on a farm in Auburndale. He completed two years of automotive technician training at Mid-StateTechnical School. He enjoys hunting, fishing and camping with his wife, Patty and son Jeremy, who is in first grade. Other hobbies include gardening, model railroad building, woodworking and small engine repair.

 

Youth Ministry Team

Sr. High Youth Group Coordinator:              Becky Crump  Email	Becky Crump is currently the High School Youth Group Coordinator at FPC.  In addition, she enjoys being on the Christian Education Committee, a member of the Session, and playing bells with the handbell choir.  Outside of church, Becky is a full-time Title I teacher in Granton, Wisconsin.  In her spare time, she coaches gymnastics and enjoys the company of her friends and family.  Becky graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2005, and will be getting married to her fiance, Matt Volenec, in May of 2008 at First Presbyterian Church.
Youth Ministries Coordinator: Cheryl Hall  Email
Confirmation Coordinator: Deb Murrell Email	Deb Murrell is enjoying her involvement with the high school youth as the Confirmation Coordinator for First Presbyterian Church.  Confirmation involves our ninth and tenth graders in class time, worship, service projects, and with adult mentors.   Deb, a former full-time teacher, also enjoys organ and bells at FPC, cooking, reading, and some substitute teaching.  She and her husband, Mike, a dentist, have two children:  Sarah, a dental student at the University of Iowa, and Luke, a graduating senior who is heading to St. Olaf College the fall of 2007.   The whole Murrell family enjoys traveling, the outdoors, and life at their little lake cabin up north.

Children's Ministry Team

Children’s Ministries Coordinator: Sarah Soehl  Email

Sarah Soehl is currently serving as the Adult Forum Coordinator and Children’s Ministries Coordinator at FPC.  Sarah is a 2001 graduate of Michigan State University and previously taught 5th grade in the Racine Unified School District. Currently she is working on her Master's Degree in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband Michael and son Owen, reading, cooking, hiking, and watching NCAA basketball.

Nursery Coordinator: Therese  Brooks

Hi, my name is Therese Brooks. I am the mother of four teenagers. Danielle is 18, and off to her first year at college. Then I have triplet boys who are 16 and a half years old. They are very active in sports: football, wrestling, and just going to their games takes up a lot of our spare time. I am married to a wonderful man for 20 years now and enjoy staying at home to take care of my family. I also really enjoy little children and babies, so that is why I love my job so much at FPC.

Music Ministry

Choir Director: David Hastings  Email

Handbell Choir Director: Kathy Phillips Email

Kathy Phillips took over the role of handbell director in the spring of 1998. She had previously directed the handbell and adult choirs at her former church in Fort Dodge, IA. In addition to her church activities, her teaching position as a band director at the Marshfield Middle School keeps her life full and busy. She and her husband Phil enjoy golfing, gardening and volunteering at FPC in their free time.

Parish Nurses

Parish Nurse: Mindy Gribble Email	Mindy Gribble: Graduated from UW-Madison, BS in Nursing 1980. She worked as a hospital staff labor and delivery obstetrical nurse in Madison for several years prior to becoming a certified childbirth educator. Since moving to Marshfield in 1985, she has been teaching childbirth classes- most recently as a St. Joseph's Hospital Birth Center staff member.She attended Parish Nurse training at Concordia University in 1998 and received American Holistic Nurses Association board certification in 2005. Currently, in addition to teaching classes for the Birth Center she is the Coordinator for the Circle of Life Community Coalition, a non- profit that supports individuals and caregivers facing life-limiting situations. As a result, her role as a parish nurse has become more that of an "assistant", continuing to write our monthly newsletter and occasionally helping with Adult Forum and wellness programming.
Parish Nurse: Carolyn Opitz Email	Carolyn Opitz: Graduated from Immanuel School of Nursing in 1962 in Omaha, Nebraska. Jim graduated from medical school that same year.  During internship for him and his time in the Air Force she did Special duty nursing (they did not have intensive care units at that time).  They moved to Marshfield in August, 1969 and she worked @ St. Joseph's Hospital in critical care and outpatient care.  Carolyn worked for 25 years, retired from the hospital, and then took the Parish Nurse Course in 1998.
Parish Nurse: Marge Huntwork Email	Marge Huntwork was born and raised in Ann Arbor MI, moved to Columbus OH for high school and early married life, then to California for 30 years where she raised her only son, Zak, before returning to the Midwest. She joined her mother, Ethel Huntwork, in Iron River MI in the Upper Peninsula in 2001 and commuted to Marshfield as a traveling nurse for her first three years of work at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Two things helped Marge and her mother decide to move to Marshfield permanently – first, St. Joseph’s cut back on their use of traveling nurses and second, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Marshfield Clinic both offer excellent care. Marge took a permanent position in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in July 2004 and with Ethel and sister, Dot Shields, bought a home here on Seventh Street.   Marge received her Associate Degree in Nursing from College of Marin, in Kentfield CA and worked throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for the 30 years she lived there. Her hospital career has always been in Neonatal Intensive Care with a smattering of Labor and Delivery, Well Baby Nursery and Pediatrics. In Iron River MI she also had a very small amount of Geriatric experience. (There’s a funny story about that – ask her sometime.) While in California, Marge trained and was certified as a Parish Nurse and worked at First Presbyterian Church, San Anselmo, in that capacity for several years.  Marge loves to read, do crossword puzzles and quilt though never seems to have enough time for these pastimes. Now living in Marshfield, Marge looks forward to bringing her experience to this Parish Nurse group at First Presbyterian Church, Marshfield.

 

Technical Support Webmaster: Terry Gillespie Email

Terry Gillespie is a retired elementary teacher with experience in information technology. In the past he has served as elder,  deacon, church directory layout technician, and new building committee member. His wife, Barbara, is the former Children's Ministry Coordinator and is presently on the Session serving as an elder. They have two children, both grown. Aimee is the band director for Shell Lake, WI School District, and Bryan is a plastics engineer in research and design for EDI in Chippewa Falls, WI. Terry's hobbies include canoeing, biking, hiking, woodworking, and volunteering on Habitat for Humanities builds.