Meet your 2024 candidates for the Area 9 Board of Directors!

Please visit https://area9.handbellmusicians.org/area-9-voting-instructions/ for instructions on how to cast your ballot. Voting will be open from August 17 – August 31

Chair Elect

Amy Epperson

Amy Epperson started ringing as a teenager in her home church Lakewood UMC in North Little Rock, AR. She continued to play in college and served as Handbell Director at First UMC in Russellville, AR, while also playing at First UMC Hot Springs. She taught band and elementary music before completing her Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing. She spent 5 years as a US Army Nurse, then 15 years as a Certified Nurse Midwife. During this time, she restarted a defunct handbell choir at Hibben UMC in Mt. Pleasant, SC. They quickly grew from a 3-octave choir to a 5-octave/7 octaves chime choir. She spent a season playing with the Palmetto Bronze Handbell Ensemble, a community group in the Charleston, SC area.

Amy became full time Director of Music at Hibben UMC and helped establish the Lowcountry Handbell Festival, partnering with the Palmetto Bronze Handbell Ensemble. In August 2022, she accepted the position as Director of Handbell Ministries at First UMC, Round Rock, Texas. She currently directs 3 adult bell ensembles, a youth bell ensemble and a children’s ensemble. The groups regularly participate in worship in addition to performing an annual Christmas concert, “Ring Noel,” and a Pops concert in early May. Both events raise money for a ministry or mission of the church and surrounding community.

John Staton

John Staton was organist at Linwood UMC in Oklahoma City when he was asked to direct the handbell choir “until they hired a new choir director.” Having been a band director, the directing part was familiar enough. Everything else was a big learning curve. That was 28 years ago. He directed at Linwood for 8 years and has been accompanist/handbell choir director at Quail Springs UMC in Oklahoma City the last 20 years. In addition to his band directing career, he was choral music department manager at a large sheet music retailer in Oklahoma City until his retirement in 2021. He was very honored to receive the Southwestern Oklahoma Band Director’s Director of the Year award in 1981, and in 2016 to receive the President’s Award from the Oklahoma Music Educators Association for service and achievement in Music Education. He is also a member of the Oklahoma City Handbell Ensemble which is very helpful giving him a chance to be on the other side of the table. He is currently serving as the Communications Chair for Area 9, overseeing social media, the newsletter, and the Overtones feature page for Area 9.

Secretary

Sheryl ‘Bob’ Martin

Sheryl ‘Bob’ Martin has been the Traditional Worship Coordinator at Asbury Church in Tulsa since 2019. Prior to that she was Director of Music and Care Ministries at St. Stephen’s UMC for 11 years, and serving as Music Associate at Asbury for 9 years before that. Both churches have a long history of active handbell choirs, and she has been blessed to be able to ring as well as direct in both locations. She has been ringing handbells since high school but refuses to tell you how long ago that was. Sheryl has been a solo ringer and handbell director since the early 90’s and has taught handbells at the local, regional, and national levels. Sheryl ‘Bob’ has served on the Area 9 board in the past as Area Rep, Treasurer, and Chair; she recently wrapped up her tenure as Chair of Distinctly Bronze, a national event for advanced ringers, and is eager to continue to her involvement with Handbell Musicians of America as Secretary of Area 9. She lives in Tulsa with her dog, Sheldon, who is not musical at all.

Stephen Wurst

Stephen Wurst serves as the Acting Director of Music Ministries at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman, Oklahoma. His duties include overseeing the handbell program which currently has six ensembles. He enjoys directing five of those ensembles, which include ringers of all ages. He began ringing handchimes in his home church and was a part of the handbell program at Concordia University Wisconsin. He recently attained the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance at the University of Oklahoma. Stephen has served as Membership Chair on the Area 9 Board for the past two years. He enjoys gardening and arranging music in his spare time.

Treasurer

Cylinda Areno

Cylinda Areno (she/her) is a native New Yorker who now lives in Round Rock, TX, and is a lifelong musician who took up ringing six years ago and quickly realized it was her passion. She currently rings with First United Methodist Church in Round Rock in the Council Oak Bells, as well as at First Presbyterian Church of Austin. Along with group ringing, Cylinda enjoys solo ringing (both bell tree and off-the-table) and duet/small groups.Her preferred table position is G3-B3, but she can and has rung every position. The 5s are another favorite octave. Always one to try to pay it forward, Cylinda hopes to serve enthusiastically and honorably for Area 9, and to make sure everyone has a voice. She has been married for 25 years and has five children between the ages of 13-24.

Jeanne Christopherson

Jeanne Christopherson grew up in Northern California and has been involved in music since the age of 12. In 1990, she registered for a college handbell course and was instantly hooked. In 1997, after moving to the Dallas area and substituting several times in rehearsal with the Dallas Handbell Ensemble, she was invited by Arnold Sherman to join East Texas Handbell Ensemble in Tyler and rang with them until the group disbanded in 2014. She served on the planning committee for the original Pinnacle (2000), an AGEHR event designed for the performing ringer. She subsequently co-chaired Pinnacle 2002 and was chair for Pinnacle 2004. She currently rings with Concert Bells of Fort Worth and the Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Ringers in Dallas. She retired from her day job in 2022 after 22 years as an Executive Assistant for technology executives with Bank of America and now amuses herself with her home-based custom cookie decorating business. Jeanne and her husband, Brian, live in Plano with their two rambunctious pups. They are the proud parents of two grown children and enjoy spending time with their two wonderful grandchildren, ages 16 and 2, as often as possible.