Get to Know Your Leaders: The Next Class of Elders and Deacons
One of the unique things about the Presbyterian church is our commitment to electing leadership from within our Church Family. They serve alongside our members, staff, and pastoral team in a number of ways: our Elders provide leadership and prayerful direction as stewards of the church’s vision, and our Deacons provide nurture, care, and support to our church family. Both roles are essential in the life of the church.
A Congregational Meeting will be held on September 15, 2024, to elect the upcoming class of Elders & Deacons. Ordination and/or installation will happen in January of 2025.
Get to know our leaders
For the office of Elder:
Allen H Peacock
Allen Peacock has been a member of First Pres for over nine years, serving in various capacities for the church as an Elder and in the student and children's ministries. Allen has been married to his wife, Courtney, for 20 years, and they are the very proud parents of Sam (14) and Wyatt (9). Allen has worked for Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC for over 18 years and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Development for Taurus' domestic real estate development platform. In his spare time, Allen enjoys hunting, fishing, running, reading, and spending time with his family.
Cindy Zimmerman
Cindy Zimmerman started coming to First Pres when her children, Max and Anabel, attended the Christ School and subsequently became deeply involved in the youth ministry. She and her husband, Jeff Stone, have enjoyed growing deeper with the church by hosting several recent Orlando Fellows and leading a sermon-based small group in their home. A graduate of the University of Florida, Cindy stewards her family business, SS Designs, with her brother Ben Carter, and she serves on the boards of the Christian Study Center at the University of Florida, the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce, and the First Pres Fellows Advisory board. She is a proud alumnus of the Gotham Fellows and recently completed Lifework Leadership.
Greg Burden
Greg and his wife, Beth Ann, have been covenant partners of First Pres since 2010, and Greg has previously served as an Elder. Greg and Beth Ann have two grown children, one married and one grandson. Greg works for a healthcare technology company based in Orlando and serves as Board Chair for parachurch ministry in Central Florida.
Patrick Mixson
Patrick has been a Covenant Partner of First Pres for more than ten years. He and his wife, Amy, were married 14 years ago at First Pres. They have three sons, Jack, Charlie, and Will. Patrick works as an attorney.
Paul C Ausley Jr. (Buz)
Buz Ausley has been a covenant partner at First Pres for over 50 years. He and his wife, Pepper, have four adult children: Christin, Paul, Russell, and Douglas. In his work life, he served as a professional naval aviator (Vietnam) and later as a federal housing executive. He has also served as an Elder at First Pres and as a teacher with the Yowell Sunday School Class.
Timothy Wombles
(Bio Unavailable)
FOR THE OFFICE OF DEACON:
Cheryl Woodall
Cheryl has been married for 34 years to Rusty Woodall, her college sweetheart from the University of Florida. They have two children, Natalie (who recently married in March to Keegan Nelms) and R.J. (who graduated from UF in 2022). Both of their children work in corporate sales/business development roles and love living in Tampa. Cheryl worked at BellSouth for 12 years post-college as an advertising sales representative. She raised her children as a "stay-at-home" mom until they were teenagers. She worked part-time at City Beautiful Landscaping (a full-service landscape company owned and operated by Rusty Woodall for 35 years) doing admin/customer relations. Cheryl & Rusty have been members of First Pres for approximately 25 years. Both of their children attended WDS & TCS. She is excited to become a deacon and use her spiritual gifts to help & serve others.
Christina Wombles
(Bio Unavailable)
Denver Martin
Denver Martin has been married to Rebecca Martin for 20+ years and has two children, Cosette, 10, and Aiden, 9. He and his family live in Winter Garden. Denver is an accomplished IT Leader with over 25 years of experience as a Sr. Director of IT and DevSecOps. He is pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration at Liberty University and teaches as an Adjunct Professor of IT at Purdue University Global. He has been a covenant partner of First Pres since 2014.
Jan Cox
Jan has been married to Reid Cox for 37 wonderful years! They have a daughter, Jenny, and her family in Knoxville and a son, Will, and his family in Gainesville, FL. She was raised in the Episcopal Church but joined First Presbyterian in her late twenties. She became very involved in leadership in the Singles group. Since then, she and her family have been active at First Presbyterian.
Janice Divine
Janice has been a member since 1986 when her eldest daughter was baptized at First Pres. Both of her daughters are now married and live in the Orlando area. She was recently widowed after 44 wonderful years with Russ. During her working years, she was in banking and non-profit administration. Although she is now fully retired, she enjoys serving as a trustee for the Heart of the City Foundation. She loves following UF football, Bible Study, Mahjong, and spending time with her three grandchildren.
Jordan Alexander
Jordan Alexander has been a covenant partner at First Pres since 2018 when she wrapped up her year as one of the inaugural Heart of the City Fellows and decided to call Orlando home. She has since served as a Sunday School teacher and volunteered with the SHINE Children's Ministry. She loves her job of running after-school programming and summer camps at The Christ School. She is excited to welcome her fiancé Bobby to Orlando and to the First Pres family this summer and to become Jordan Bennett on 11/9/24.
Leigh Cleeveley
Leigh (Hames) Cleeveley is a lifetime and fourth-generation member of the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. Baptized as an infant in 1985, Leigh feels a deep and fruitful connection with the Church. Residing in Orlando with her husband, Peter Cleeveley, the Cleeveleys have three children, Parker (8), Paul (5), and Patrick (2), who all attend Lake Forrest Preparatory School in Maitland where Leigh serves as Treasurer of the PTA. A graduate of Rollins College, Leigh works as the Director of Operations at Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors in Winter Park. Her passion for understanding people led Leigh to find her purpose in planning to help clients identify goals and objectives to attain meaningful lives through care and preparation. Leigh delights in her family. She enjoys running, yoga, and spending time with her family at the YMCA, with friends out and about around Winter Park, at First Pres, and at home.
Loni Hurbanis
Loni has been a Covenant Partner at First Pres since 1998 and has served in the Children's ministry, WeekDay School Advisory board, and is a Commission 127 Advocate. She has three adult children and two granddaughters that she loves spending time with. In her free time she enjoys playing tennis and golf.
Cynthia (Cindi) Hyltin
Cindi has been a member of First Pres for over 30 years. She and her husband, Andy, have been married for 26 years and have 2 grown daughters. Prior to starting their family, she worked in Property Management as a Training Director. At First Pres, she has served as an Usher, volunteered in the nursery, served on the WDS Advisory Board, was a Children's Sunday School teacher, participated in the Women's Bible Study group, and on the Advisory Board of Mercy Drive Ministries.
Missy Wilson
Missy Wilson and her husband, Tony, have been members of First Pres since 1992. They have two adult sons, Tyler and Chas. Over the past 32 years, Missy has been involved in many areas of the church, including Ushering, Children’s Sunday School and Junior Worship, Student Ministry, Adult Sunday School, Women’s Bible studies, the Fellows Program, and various small groups. She is truly humbled to receive the call of Deacon.
Nancy Chapin
Nancy Chapin is married to Robb Chapin. They have two children, Annalee and Brady, who were baptized and raised in First Pres. Nancy taught elementary school and worked in school administration for 17 years. Nancy and Robb have been First Pres members for 33 years, where she has served as Sunday school teacher, Bible study co-leader, Nursery ministry, and Children's ministry chairman, served on the Jail Ministry team, and as Deacon for two terms. First Pres has been an amazing church community guiding her in her faith journey.
Robert Dukes
Bob has been a Covenant Partner of First Pres for over 30 years. Bob is a current Deacon and a member of the College of Elders. He has two children, Ryan and Melissa. Bob and his wife, Amanda, serve as Co-Hosts of the First Connections classes.
Luke Smith
Luke was born in Orlando, FL and has been attending First Pres with his family since he was in Middle School. Luke was a part of the second class of the Orlando Heart of the City Fellows program, where he interned with healthcare technology company VaxCare. After the fellows program he moved to England to earn his masters degree in international business before returning to Orlando to continue working at VaxCare. Luke volunteers with student ministry at First Pres and in his free time he enjoys long distance running and traveling.