Rev. Edward B. Simmons  | The Rev. Edward B. Simmons was named Executive Director of Mountain T.O.P. in 2006 after the retirement of founder and past Executive Director, George Bass. Simmons holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida, an MBA from the University of Houston, and received his pastoral training from Chandler School of Theology and Perkins School of Theology. He spent 15 years at Enron Corp. before entering the ministry in 1993. He is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church. He previously served several churches in the Texas Annual Conference as the Minister Administration. Simmons had an 18 year affiliation with Mountain T.O.P as a camper prior to being appointed executive director. His call to full-time ministry in the United Methodist Church came while participating in a Mountain T.O.P. camp week. He has been married to his wife Glynn for over 30 years. |
Jay W. Koelbl | Jay joined the Support Staff as Service Area Manager in January of 2009. He was the first member of the Support Staff to formally be trained by his predecessor, Jeff Grammer. Jay, with the help of his fellow staffers and volunteers, is responsible for field operations for the A.I.M., BreakOut, and Y.S.M. programs. He interacts with the county residents to meet their expressed needs with the abilities and gifts of our participants. He graduated in December 2008 from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications and a focus in Recording Industry. It is the nicest framed piece of paper he owns. Mountain T.O.P. is an integral part of Jay's faith journey. He has been a participant many times, and served on Summer Staff four years before accepting this position. Jay loves his job and this mountain. |
Julie Duncan  | Julie came to Mountain T.O.P. in 2007 after serving in the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts in Mississippi. At Mountain T.O.P., she serves as the logistical contact for every group coming into camp. Julie started out as a mechanical engineer, but migrated back over to the world of missions, a passion that began for her at Mountain T.O.P. as a youth. Her spare time is consumed by pursuing a master's in Spiritual Formation from Asbury Seminary and fishing with her husband whenever she can. |
Kim VanGundy | Kim VanGundy was named Program Manager - Resource Development in the Fall of 2007. VanGundy holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Criminal Justice from Northwestern College in Orange City, IA. She spent 10 years at Canyon Camp & Conference Center before coming to Mountain T.O.P. In 2008 she became certified in Camp/Retreat Ministry in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church and Drew University. She is also a certified Ropes Course Facilitator. In her spare time, Kim enjoys creating quilts, hiking, and spending time with Maray, the 180 pound English Mastiff that lives in her home. |
Samantha (Sam) Tashman  | Samantha (Sam) Tashman was named Program Manger - Recruiting and Public Awareness in September of 2008. Her first experience with Mountain T.O.P. was in 2000 when she came as a youth camper. Since then, she has been involved with Mountain T.O.P. in some capacity for the past 9 years. She served on summer staff for three years and was most recently a Director in 2008. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Auburn University. Sam is passionate about programming and is always looking for new and creative ways to experience God. She also enjoys making people laugh, being excited about life, traveling and writing. But most importantly, she aspires to be a professional breakdancer. |
Bo Myers
| Bo Myers was named Program Manager - Service Area and Ministry Support in January 2011. During 2010, Bo served as our Ministry Intern for the Spring and Summer. Additionally, he served on the summer staff for three years. Most recently, he was a Director as Camp Baker Mountain during the summer of 2009. Bo is responsible for assisting in securing projects for all fall & spring programs, assisting in the support of the summer staff Field Managers and serving as a member of the Program Team for ministry activities (camps, retreats, special activities, staff training). Bo graduated from Louisiana State University on December 17th, 2010 with a Bachelor's in Mass Communication with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism. Bo aspires to find a warm mountain to live on, "cause this one's just too dang cold." |
Elise Low | Elise Low joined Support Staff in May 2011 as the Ministry Intern. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, she first became involved with Mountain T.O.P. as a youth camper in 2005. She served on summer staff for three years, most recently as a Director in 2010, where she had the joy of leading the first ever Fish Camp. Elise is a recent graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, from which she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Global Health. Elise has a knack for acquiring eccentric nicknames when out in the service area, most often stemming from mispronunciations of her name or her unusually fair complexion. Elise enjoys journaling, reading, and playing the ukulele, and dreams of one day owning her very own Snuggie. The ministry of Mountain T.O.P. has played a strong formational role in Elise’s walk with Christ, and she is excited to be back serving God and his people through Mountain T.O.P.
|
Buddy Boyce | Nathan “Buddy” Boyce was a member of Blakemore UMC (Nahshville, TN) and had the opportunity to be a part of the first Mountain T.O.P. staff in 1975. He served on the field staff for 2 years and was camp director for an additional 2 years. Buddy graduated from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) with a Marketing degree. He is an avid Vols fan and currently lives in Nashville. Buddy serves as Development Resources Manager for Mountain T.O.P. His main focus is contacting individuals and companies for potential in-kind contributions. |
