Effective April 15th, 2020, Mrs. Saunders Grommesh accepted the new role of our new Church Administrator for our special Lake Toxaway United Methodist Church.

This is a part-time position, designed through an extensive job description to:

• Support the numerous committees from our congregation who are charged with leading the spiritual and financial health of this special, 108-year-old church; and
• Work with Pastor Marcus Dodson for the church administration and the process for weekly worship; and
• Develop and maintain records for the church, including member and visitor contacts and communications; and
• Establish updated communications capabilities for the church, including our website and social media.

As you can see, this is a big, challenging job. It is aimed at raising the efficiency of our church, while increasing our ability to do God’s work in outreach services to those in need in our local communities. We feel Saunders is uniquely qualified for this service, as this short description shows:

Saunders was born and raised in the South – New Orleans, LA and graduated with a double major in Information Systems & Graphic Design & Asian Studies from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA. She started her career working in Charlotte, NC and was asked to help start the new Microsoft site in Dallas, TX. She worked 20 years for Microsoft Corp. as a Technical Support Engineer & Manager where she was a technical support engineer, did training and hiring in Charlotte, NC, Dallas, TX, Fargo, ND, and Bangalore, India. After force-reduction retirement, she worked several Associate & Administrator jobs in Texas. Mostly for non-profits and assisted living & memory care assignments.

Saunders purchased a vacation home in 2000 and recently moved here permanently in 2017. She worked for United Way of Transylvania County as the Resource Development Director until they closed in January 2020. She has been very involved in charity and community work in Texas and here in our area where she serves on several local non-profit boards and is an Augustine Literacy Program tutor at Rosman Elementary School.

Saunders and Matt, have been married for sixteen and half years and we have two new black lab puppies: Momus and Chaos. They live just a mile away from the church so if you ever need anything please do not hesitate to ask. Her hobbies are photography, hiking, volunteering and explore our beautiful waterfalls and scenic drives. Lake Toxaway is her second home as she started vacationing here back in the ‘70s.

Saunders, by unique and (probably Devine) circumstance was also an acquaintance and “soul-mate” of our beloved Ruth Cech. She and Ruth shared a passion for photography, and got to know each other a few years before Ruth’s passing.