Staff
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Brad Carter
I ventured to Abilene to attend Abilene Christian University in 1997 after growing up in a small, college town in northwest Tennessee. After completing undergraduate and graduate education, I worked coordinating Chapel Programs at ACU for two years. I then made a transition into church ministry at New Life Church in downtown Abilene. While working as associate minister at the church, I began to study and learn about community development and renewal from a variety of sources.
Through efforts of finding partners and opportunities in Abilene, I discovered Connecting Caring Communities in 2005 and took a trip to Shreveport with a great group of interested leaders. I returned inspired and led efforts at my church and through volunteering with CCC to help implement the strategies and efforts in Abilene. When the position for executive director reopened in 2007, I decided it was time to work full-time with CCC in community renewal.
Since then, I continue to learn, meet new partners and caring people, and be renewed myself in this great work. Through these various positions and times of growth, I have been supported, encouraged and accompanied by my wonderful wife, Rachael, and in recent years by our daughters Ellianna, Caroline and Annie.
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Dusty Garison
Dusty is an ordained pastor in the Christian Church, with over 25 years experience in ministry, including serving churches in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Minnesota. For the last two years, he has worked as Communications Director for the United Way of Abilene. He also has a background in broadcasting, and was the longtime host of the popular radio program, "A.M. Sunday," heard on KVRP in Haskell.
Dusty has a B.A. from Dallas Christian College and a Masters degree from ACU. He is a sixth-generation Native Texan. He enjoys listening to Blues music; he also says that he "loves trains" and is a member of the Abilene Society of Model Railroaders.
His wife Kathy works as an administrative assistant in the College of Business Administration at Abilene Christian University. She is an accomplished musician, and enjoys many types of handcrafts.
The Garisons have four children, two of whom live with them in the Friendship House. Brittany is a senior at Abilene High. She is a Drum Major in the Eagle Band, and is also active in drama and debate. Erin is in the fourth grade at College Heights Elementary. She enjoys reading and playing with her friends. The family attends Beltway Park Church, where Dusty teaches a Bible class.
Dusty and Kathy also have two grown sons: Travis, 27, and Drew, 22. They both live and work in Abilene. Drew is a senior at Hardin-Simmons, majoring in Business.
For his part, Dusty says he is excited to join the CCC family, and looking forward to the challenges ahead. "This is wonderful work," he says, "and I love that the Friendship House is the place in the neighborhood that is safe and open to everyone. I hope we can continue to expand its outreach and influence in the community. We have the opportunity to rebuild our neighborhoods from the inside out, and I am humbled to be chosen as part of this team."
Dusty says he sees his work with CCC as a natural extension of his experience as a minister. "Ministry work is all about people," he notes. "It's about forming relationships and reaching out to others. That's what the Friendship House is - an opportunity to build and grow relationships with those around us, turning neighbors into partners and transforming strangers into friends.
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Danyel Rogers
I grew up in various places around Texas as a pastor’s kid. I graduated from high school in the Houston area and then moved to Abilene to attend college. I earned my BA in Church Ministry and Leadership in 2002, then married my best friend, Brandon Rogers shortly after graduation.
We began working as volunteers with community renewal here, took our first trip to visit Community Renewal in Shreveport, and then in 2004 moved in to the North Park Friendship House.
I became the Community Coordinator, while Brandon began working in computer technology at Hardin-Simmons. I graduated with my Masters in 2005 in Family Ministry and Counseling, and then Brandon and I had our first child, Mya in April of 2007. We enjoy working at the Friendship House because it is a practical way for us to live out our faith.
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Lori Thornton
I grew up in the busy Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex where there is always a lot going on. In 1995 I followed my family’s tradition of attending Abilene Christian University, where I played drums in the Big Purple Band, met and married my wonderful husband Michael (also a drummer), and earned a degree in All-Level Art Education.
I had the pleasure of teaching elementary and secondary art at Abilene Christian Schools for three years while finishing college. In 2001 I began employment with a very unique art museum, the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL) in downtown Abilene, where I enjoyed six years of working with America’s premier children’s book illustrators.
Then the Lord led me to CCC. I feel so blessed to be involved with this amazing organization and the people who make a real difference in the lives of others! I continue to teach art lessons to willing learners, and have recently illustrated a children’s book written by a dear friend, Deborah Strickland - we are now working on the sequel!
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Jordan Wesley
The vision of Connecting Caring Communities first captured my heart and mind in 2006. I was about to begin my graduate studies in Social Work and Christian Ministry as well as an internship with ACU Leadership Camps. I came to Brad hoping to find some direction for a program I was developing for middle school students. From the moment I saw the sketch of the CCC logic model, I was sold.
Prior to my light bulb moment over a torn sheet of notebook paper with Brad, I received a bachelor's degree in Social Work at ACU and spent the summers serving a small church in the Bronx, New York. It was in the 2000 block of Crueger Avenue in the Bronx that I first heard the cries of people suffering from the damage of broken relationships &emdash; the cries of a community in need of renewal. And it was on the streets and front porches of Abilene that I discovered the innumerable challenges and the beautiful simplicity of communities drenched with meaningful, whole relationships. I completed all of my studies in December of 2009 and started full-time work here in January 2010.
Meals are a favorite way of mine to connect with people. You don't really know a person until you know how they like to chop their carrots or which knife is their favorite. On any given night you will find me eating at a weekly sister dinner with my two wonderful sisters and brother-in-law, cooking with my neighbors or in my friends' homes across Abilene. Usually all the people time wears my introverted-self out so I may not always answer the door if you stop by. But give me a minute to read a book or do some yoga, and I'll get out my pots and pans for the next time you drop in. And just so you know, my favorite knife is a little paring knife with a white handle.