Our Chief Termite Retires

Termites Warren Bamford, David Browe and Bert Nelson refinishing our playset.

David Browe writes to share with the people of St. Barnabas about a leadership transition as he steps down as MCL for Buildings and Grounds and hands over the reins to Bert Nelson, our former senior warden.

“I have been privileged to serve as Ministry Leader, Building and Grounds, aka “chief termite” for the past nine years.  During that time as our facility ages gracefully, I have been blessed to have the assistance of a number of talented termite volunteers that have enabled us to keep ahead of needed repairs and upgrades.

Now I am pleased to announce that Bert Nelson has agreed to take over the Ministry Leader position.  Bert and I have worked together on several projects over the past few months and I am confident that he will continue to ensure St. Barnabas stays in good repair and meets the needs of our congregation.  Please join me in supporting Bert in his new role.” - David Browe 

“The Termites” are our faithful Buildings and Grounds volunteers here at St. Barnabas. They got this name from the early days of crawling all corners of the building as the building was being built.

David Browe has served as our Ministry Council Leader for Buildings and Grounds for the last nine years. During his tenure he has overseen major upgrades to our facility including a new roof, upgrades to our HVAC systems, LED light installation, rebuilding our fire safety system, and so many other projects.

David put up with our crazy ideas, helping us build walls and then tear them down a few years later as our building use needs changed. He was the fixer of all things, always on hand to move furniture, hang pictures, change lightbulbs, recalibrate the ovens. He served as a dedicated squirrel and chipmunk catcher when they would find their way into the eaves of the roof. He kept track of all the contractors and projects and cultivated a wonderful team of volunteers, always knowing the right person for a job. Most of all, he did it all with a warm smile and a humble attitude.

In his spare time, David is a restorer of classic cars and was a regular volunteer at People Working Cooperatively. You can read more about David here, in our Fully Restored blog post about his many talents.   

Many thanks to David, Bert and our entire Termite Team for all their hard work. If you are interested in being on the Termite team or would like to help out with special buildings and grounds projects from time to time, please let Bert Nelson know. He can be found singing in the choir, training his dog, Coda, fixing things around the building and sometimes playing the organ.