Lake Junaluska Rep Visits Mississippi to Thank Supporters

Ken Howle (wearing the tie) visited with the Mississippi Conference Annual ministerial services staff.

center, Lake Junaluska, recently made a 20-hour round trip drive from Lake Junaluska, North Carolina to Mississippi where he thanked United Methodists and individual longtime supporters of Lake Junaluska. According to Howle, the volume of people that come from Mississippi to Lake Junaluska is unique with the center hosting over 1,000 Mississippi youth year after year.

"For the size of the Mississippi Conference we get a high percentage of people that come from Mississippi to Lake Junaluska each year. I think a lot of that stems from tradition and connections between the Mississippi Conference and Lake Junaluska," he said.

One connecting factor is Howle's past supervisor Jimmy Carr, the current executive director of ministerial services for the Mississippi Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.  Carr once worked as an executive director at Lake Junaluska for 11 years.

"We also have a tradition of United Methodist clergy from Mississippi who have vacation homes or have retired to Lake Junaluska and that helps foster the connection as well," according to Howle.

The summer of 2013 marked Lake Junaluska's centennial celebration, which included the talents of Mississippi United Methodist, Sarah Hillman, serving as chairman of the homecoming celebration.  Planning for the July event began four years ago. Unfortunately, Hillman's health prevented her from attending it, but her hard worked paid off attracting a crowd of roughly 1,200 people.  For this, Howle thanked Hillman and her husband Byrd in person when he was in Mississippi.

"We are a non-profit agency of the jurisdiction and we get a lot of financial support from individuals in Mississippi and that is what really makes our ministry successful," Howle added.

Lake Junaluska plans to have representatives visiting Mississippi this winter. To schedule a visit from a Lake Junaluska representative, churches or individuals should contact Melissa Aldridge at 828-452-2881, ext. 680.  For more information about Lake Junaluska go online to http://www.lakejunaluska.com/.