E
arly life: I was born in Woodstock, Va. and lived there, in the same house, until moving away to college. My father served as the county administrator for Shenandoah County and my mother was a homemaker. I was the fourth of five children whose ages span 15 years.
When Melanie met Jeffrey: In order to get my guy-crazed, freshman roommate to leave me alone about having a crush, I blindly pointed out a guy in the dining hall who ended up being Jeffrey. He later became involved in the Baptist Student Union and joined a discipleship group of which I was a part. We quickly became great friends and still are to this day. We have been married 22 1/2 years and have been blessed with three children: Jeff, 17; Seth, 15; and Megan, 10.
Christian walk: I was raised in a Christian home and made a very real decision to follow Christ in baptism when I was 10. I attribute the powerful prayers of my parents to my staying on the straight and narrow through my school years. Once in college and faced with the fact that all decisions were my own — it was obvious that I really couldn’t do life without a personal relationship with Jesus. I enjoy the fact that that relationship grows more and more and allows me to experience more facets of our God with the challenges each new day brings.
Education: Virginia Tech with a B.A. in communications and graphic arts.
Career: I am currently working my first full time job since having children as a para-educator in a kindergarten class in York County.
Community: I have been given the nickname of the party lady because I have been the one to plan the social events for our HOA for more than four years.
In my spare time: Most of my spare time is spent transporting to and participating in my children’s events. But I love it when I can sneak in a brisk walk, bike ride, or work in the yard just to be outside.
Deacon philosophy: To treat my families as my family: pray for them regularly, try to keep them connected to the great things happening at WHBC, and to celebrate over the good things as well as walk through the not-so-good things.
