My husband, Marty and I have 2 wonderful kids and 3 awesome grandchildren. They all keep us hopping and on the go with school and sports activities and family game nights. When I’m not hanging with the kiddos I love to read, quilt or paint. But my favorite past time is when we go out to the Black Hills and can hike in the beauty of God’s creation!

I enjoy creating experiences that engage people and welcome all. To help the Gospel be heard by as many different people as possible, I utilize my upbringing and blend it well with technology. My church history and experience span from small-town South Dakota Lutheran church to large, modern Wesleyan church. I believe this blend helps me stay grounded as well as look toward the future of what a church community can be. My hope is that people can recognize that worship isn’t “only-this” or “never-that;” that worship isn’t just a “Sunday” thing, but a lifestyle. I grew up in northeast South Dakota on a farm, and although I have 8 siblings, most were graduated and out of the house before I was born. I grew up with a love for music as my parents were in a country cover band together for many years. My love of music and art lends itself to a plethora of pastimes. I spend time singing and playing guitar, video games, and I get hooked on good storytelling in movies. I also enjoy big visuals in movies and tv shows and spend time researching details about “how they filmed that,” or share “did you know…” type movie facts. I met my wife Bethany in college, and we bonded over scary movies and pizza. We got married in 2009, and we have 3 daughters. We’re always on-the-go, but always make time for singing, jokes, and the occasional jump-scare. Most of my free time is spent getting the girls to all their activities and sometimes just sitting with them and doing nothing. I really enjoy being a dad, but I’m also glad when Bethany suggests a “girls night” to give me a break from so many girls.

While growing up, I participated in a variety of musical groups; eventually making the cello and teaching strings my forte. In 2008, I retired from 33 years of teaching elementary strings and directing the High School orchestra in Watertown. My husband, Gary, and I enjoy traveling. Each year we try to experience a new location in the U.S. or foreign country. We cheer the SDSU Jackrabbits in football and basketball. In the summertime, I tend my garden and flowers, go for daily walks, ride bike, and buzz around in my little red convertible (The Red Pepper). Cooking, entertaining, quilting, water aerobics and playing cello for church or in a string quartet for weddings, are other favorite to dos.

My love for young children led me to be a primary teacher for 32 years. Teaching brought me complete joy as I watched young children discover the joy of learning. It was amazing how each year the children became “my own”. My husband, Tim, was also an educator so it was a joy to share the profession together. After we retired from education, Tim and I purchased a home on Lake Kampeska. While our dream was to always live by a lake, it was actually our daughters, Sabrina Valsvig and Lauren Olerud, who enticed us to make the move to Watertown. We enjoy spending time with the girls’ families but especially the five grandchildren that they’ve given us. We are also able to spend time with our son, Andrew, and his family who live in Canton, SD. His children keep us busy traveling to their school activities as well as watching Andrew coach. Andrew is also a teacher so his family is able to spend more time in the summer at the lake with us. For Tim and I family is everything. We are so thankful for the blessed family God has given us.