Don Blanchard was born in VA and moved to NC at age 2, where he lived until he moved to Fort Myers with Susan in 2005. After college and the Army (Vietnam Vet) he spent most of his career owning two businesses: first insurance and then an assisted living facility. He "retired" to the dawn-to-dusk life of farming where he raised organic vegetables and chickens and was a regular volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Here he volunteers with the Soup Kitchen and is presently involved as co-chair (with Susan) of our UUCFM Services Auction. He has been a UU since the 1970s.
Vice President of Ministerial Services - Don Routh
Don Routh was born in Oklahoma City and joined the First Unitarian Church there in 1958. He met his future wife at that church, and later their two daughters had their UU religious education in Iowa and North Carolina. Don and his wife often taught RE, themselves, most frequently "The Church Across the Street." Don served as president of what was at that time a small lay-led group in Durham, North Carolina, the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Don is a professor emeritus of the University of Miami (in psychology) and since he retired in 2002 has been studying history at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Vice President of Programming - Mary Murray
Mary Murray has been a UU member for over 10 years and a member of this congregation for 3 years, joining after she and her husband Frank moved to the area from Washington DC. She retired after serving 20 years with American Red Cross Disaster Services and is pursuing her second career as a Volunteer Naturalist with Lee County Parks. She is active in our CUUPs chapter and a supporter of the Holton Eco-Preserve. The natural world has always called to Mary and it was in nature that she found her spiritual home. She was delighted to discover that there was an organized church with people who agreed with her about the importance of the natural world and challenged her to think too! It doesn’t get much better than that for Mary.
Vice President of Operations - Barbara Mannix
Barbara Mannix joined UUCFM in the spring of 1998. By that fall she was organizing work parties
and by spring of 2000 she was on the Board of Trustees serving as a Trustee. When the VP of Administration & Planning resigned, she stepped into that position. As a member of the Finance Council, she worked on 3 pledge drives and also served as Treasurer and then V P of Finance. She has chaired the rummage sale every year but one since 2002. Barbara was a partner in a large custom cabinet shop in Michigan and functioned as the Business Manager. She is the mother of 3 sons. Her 5 sisters and brothers and various relatives live here in Ft. Myers. Barbara started painting two and a half years ago and this year has joined the choir to learn how to sing. Barbara has been a UU since 1995 and many of our members have heard her say " no matter how good I feel when I get here, I always feel better when I leave." Being a UU is important to her and so are the friendships formed while working and playing with other members.
Secretary - Ellen Erickson
After moving to Ft. Myers, Ellen began attending UUCFM on Clifford Street in 1972 with her husband Andy, and they officially joined in 1974. High school sweethearts, they were married at the Binghamton, NY U-U Church in 1967. They are parents of three grown sons, all raised in the UUCFM R.E.; and now grandparents of three wonderful grandchildren, who bring them much joy and fun! She helped set up the first R.E. program at UUCFM in the 1970s, was a member of the Ministerial Relations Committee with Rev. Bill Miller, and was a member of the Finance Committee for several years. She is the current UUCFM BOT Secretary and is a member of the Caring Committee and Communications Committee. A resident of East Lee County since 1972, she and her husband owned a retail beverage store there for 25 years and are still active as landlords and keep busy rehabbing homes. Her volunteer work includes local schools, International Inner Wheel (was national Secretary for two years), and various civic groups. She enjoys traveling, reading, Scrabble and her family!
Treasurer - Ted Brown
I was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. My parents moved to Indiana when I was about 14, so I attended high school there, and during that time met Audrey Brockman, the love of my life. My parents moved to Chicago when I was about to start college, so I lived at home and attended Illinois Institute of Technology. I served in the U.S. Navy during 1950 -53. During that time Audrey and I were married. By the time I left the navy we had two children. We decided I should attend graduate school, and I completed my Ph.D. in Chemistry at Michigan State University in 1956. I took a job on the chemistry faculty at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and remained there for my entire career, retiring in January 1994. In addition to teaching, research and textbook writing (which continues), I also worked at administration, serving for six years as Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate College, and for several years after that as the founding director of the Beckman Institute.
Audrey and I have had five children: Mary, Karen, Jennifer, Philip (deceased) and Andrew. We have eight grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Our family members are a source of great joy to us. We spend the summer months in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where we have a lot of family gatherings throughout the summer. I exercise a lot; I love running, but will probably have to give it up some year soon. Much of my time is filled with writing, reading, watching movies and volunteer work. I’ve been trying to learn to just goof off, but it does not come easily.
Member At Large - Chris Rosa
I believe you can tell what’s important to a person by looking at where they’ve spent their time and money. If that is the case than the three areas that have been important to me have been my family, career and church lives. I spent my career in the education field first as a social studies teacher and then as a high school counselor. When I look back on my years as a high school counselor, I feel very blessed that I "fell into" a career that suited me so well. I found the fast paced and constantly changing environment of counseling teens stimulating, and relating to both staff and parents a constant challenge. Although I married in 1970, my career remained my main focus until my son was born in 1976. It was the birth of my son that led me from being a lapsed Catholic to the UU Church, because thinking about what I wanted for him spiritually led me to examine what I truly believed about this life and the next. After "trying out" several churches I began attending Channing Church in Newport, R.I. where I met many people who were on a similar religious/spiritual journey. Eventually I became very active in the church serving in many capacities including positions on the board as well as RE teacher and director. When my daughter arrived from Korea in 1984 the church celebrated her arrival with my family. Years later, in 1997, when my husband was dying much too young, the church community supported me to an extent that still amazes me.
Given my history with the UU Church it is understandable that when I moved to Florida in 2003 I went in search of a UU Church in the area. I found the church through the website and have enjoyed belonging to the community ever since. Although the church differs in many ways from my home church in Rhode Island, I found the same commitment to the UU principles, the same intellectual curiosity of the members, and the same commitment to social justice. Florida would truly not feel like "home" without the UUCFM church community.
President Elect - Jim Grimes
Jim graduated from Venice High School in 1977 and then spent four years in the Air Force as a 
medical administrative specialist. He went on to get his BA in environmental studies from Florida Gulf Coast University and worked as a biological research assistant for Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Presently, Jim is working as a health inspector for the Collier County Health department. Various work assignment has been working in the toxic super act program. This involves looking for contaminated drinking water. Jim also works biomedical waste, inspecting hospitals and other facilities that generate medical waste. His interests are in many different areas of science.
President - Heidi Ruster
