The UCOG Board of Directors |
John Burquist, age 92, is originally from Duluth, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1949 with a degree in architecture. Prior to his retirement in 1982, he held the position of chief architect for the City of Mobile. John has served on United Christian Outreach Germany's Board of Directors since its incorporation in October 2001. He has been a member in the church of God since 1968 and an elder since May 1983. He and his wife Frances visited the German-language area of Europe several times during the 1970s and 1980s. Currently John is a member of the Living Church of God and attends services in Pensacola, Florida. Frances Burquist called Mobile, Alabama her home town, where her family has lived for several generations. As a child, Frances attended the Baptist church, but became a member of the church of God in 1968 at the same time as her husband John after learning about the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God. She served as a deaconness in the Mobile area for several years. She developed a personal interest in the German language following a visit to Germany to observe the biblical Feast of Tabernacles in 1974. Frances was one of the original members of UCOG's Board of Directors when it was incorporated in October 2001. She was a member of the Living Church of God at the time of her untimely death on December 4, 2001. Paul Kieffer, age 61, has been a member of the church of God since 1970 and an elder for 36 years. Paul is the only student to graduate from Ambassador College with a major in German. He has extensive personal experience in the German-language area, having served there at one time as Regional Director for the Worldwide Church of God. Paul is the only elder who served in the German-language area prior to 1975 who has remained faithful to the doctrines of the church of God taught by Herbert W. Armstrong. He is now a member of the United Church of God and contributes to the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine published by the United Church of God-Germany. Scott Thomas, age 45, was raised in the church of God. After completing high school in Mobile, Alabama, he attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas. Scott then returned to Mobile and continued his education at the University of South Alabama, earning a bachelor's degree in marketing. Scott's interest in the German-language area is partially a result of his visits to Europe, including a visit in the fall of 1989 when the Berlin wall was opened. Self-employed as an interior decorator, Scott attends church services in Mobile with his wife Crystal at the United Church of God. |
