TOM GERARD
Tom Gerard and his family—his wife, Beth, and three
children—joined the Good Shepherd community in the summer of 1989. Beth
sings in the choir and teaches RE. Their eldest child, Carol, graduated
from Loyola University of New Orleans in 2000; Paul graduated from Old
Dominion University in Norfolk in 2002; and Sarah is a sophomore at West
Potomac High
School, sings in the 9:00 am and 6:30 pm choirs, and is a
member of the Youth Group. Sarah also teaches RE.
The family joined Good Shepherd for its vibrant liturgies,
strong RE program, active Youth Group, and a loving and serving community of
believers where they could grow in their faith as individuals and as a
family. Tom believes that Good Shepherd was that in 1989 and is still that
and more in 2006.
Beth and Tom have tried to be contributing members of the Good
Shepherd community while continuing to build a stronger family at home.
They have both served on the Parish Pastoral Council and on various
committees. Tom has served on the Finance Council for over 15 years,
including a few years as chairperson. He also serves on the Stewardship
Committee and is an Extraordinary Minister. He says, “I have had the
privilege to serve you personally by sharing God’s great gift of the Body
and Blood of His Son.”
KATHY McLEAN
Kathy McLean has been a member of Good Shepherd Parish for the
past 13 years. She lives in Waynewood with her husband Duncan and their
three children Katie, 16, Matthew, 15, and Megan, 12. She moved to this
area in 1993 as an active duty Naval Officer working at the Defense Nuclear
Agency. After the Navy, Kathy spent several years as a stay-at-home mom,
raising her children and volunteering her time with the PTA, the Girl Scouts
and Good Shepherd’s religious education program, VBS, and the International
Festival. Currently she teaches high school math at St. Stephen’s and St.
Agnes School in Alexandria. Since 2004, Kathy has served parishioners at
Good Shepherd as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
PEG MASTAL
Peg Mastal is a “cradle Catholic” of Irish ancestry, born the
eldest of three daughters in New York City. She was educated in Catholic
schools and trained as a registered nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New
York City. Over the years, she
has received a bachelor’s degree in nursing
from the University of Nebraska, a masters degree in nursing from George
Mason University, and a doctorate in public policy, also from GMU.
Professionally, Peg has been a nurse and a health care manager
in a variety of settings, and she currently works for a quality improvement
organization doing evaluation research on healthcare quality in Medicare and
Medicare programs. She also serves as adjunct faculty for nursing programs
at The Catholic University, Marymount University, and George Mason.
Peg and her husband Jerry moved around during his Air Force
career, but have lived mostly in Northern Virginia. They have four adult
children and 12 grandchildren.
The Mastals came to Good Shepherd in 1985. Peg has served in
the lector ministry, as a Extraordinary Minister, and on the Parish Council
for two separate terms in an at-large capacity. She also participated in
the recent ReVisioning journey with Fr. Chuck and fellow parishioners,
learning and growing in faith and gaining an increased understanding of the
organizational Church.
KATIE
(FLAHERTY) SAVAGE
Katie moved to the Mount Vernon area as a young girl with her
family in 1977 and has been attending Good Shepherd Catholic Church ever
since.
After graduation from William & Mary in 1990, Katie began her
professional career as a tax consultant and CPA. Later she earned her
master’s degree in education from William & Mary and taught middle school
math for 2 years. Currently, works part-time as the director of operations
for a professional services firm and volunteers in her “free time” in
various capacities.
Katie and her husband, Mike, have been married for 9 years. They
live in Stratford Landing with their three daughters—Mary Kate (6½ years),
Clare (5 years), and Bridget (2 years). Katie expresses her desire to serve the
parish as follows: “Good
Shepherd has been a constant and positive force in
my life for 30 years. I grew up with Good Shepherd as my “definition” of what a Catholic church should be. This Church, community, and parishioners
have shaped my ideas about Catholicism, what it means to be a good person,
and what it means to be a good Christian. There are a unique sense of
community and a welcoming attitude that exist at Good Shepherd and that I
feel are unequaled and special in our community. I want to make sure that
that tradition continues and does not get lost as the parish continues to
grow and expand. To me, it is important to change with the growing needs of
the community without losing the special intangible qualities that make Good
Shepherd an extraordinary church.”
RALPH L.
TINDAL
Ralph Tindal and his wife Sally settled back in the Mount Vernon
area 10 years ago. After 35 years in the Navy, with their three sons grown
and raising their own families in other parts of the country, and after
being away from the area for four
years, Ralph and
Sally were pleased to be back
among friends and neighbors here at Good Shepherd. Now their roots are
deeper than ever, and their ties and sense of obligation to our Good
Shepherd community are stronger than ever.
Ralph has been involved in the International Festival, Cursillio,
and the music and social justice ministries. Serving on the board of
directors for United Community Ministries has given him a better
understanding of our community in general. Ralph also has drawn from his
wife’s years of experience in Religious Education, Just Faith, Education for
Parish Service, and other ministries. His strong interest in social justice
is evidenced by the work that he and Sally have done over the last three
years in establishing St. Joseph’s Mission Fund, which has allowed them to
build and support schools and orphanages in the poorest coastal areas of
southern India and to carry out a program of building low-cost homes for the
destitute homeless in that tsunami-ravaged area.
CAROLYN A.
VANDAMME
Carolyn spent much of her life moving across the country as the
daughter of an Air Force Colonel. She relocated to the Washington, DC, area
after finishing her graduate studies in Public Policy at the Georgia
Institute of Technology in Atlanta,
Georgia and has it home ever since. An
engineer by training and now the owner of a strategic consulting firm,
Carolyn has spent most of her career helping high-tech organizations in
industry (profit and non-profit) and government create and implement their
science and technology policies, marketing and outreach initiatives, and
strategic plans.
Ten years ago, she and her husband, Paul Van Damme, moved to
the Mount Vernon area, where they became part of the local community. they
have raised three daughters: Katerina (8), Elena (5) and Isabella (1).
The oldest two girls attend St. Mary’s School in Old Town.
Carolyn and Paul joined Good Shepherd 10 years ago. Since then,
she has watched the church completely transform and evolve into a warm,
welcoming, and energetic community. Through her active participation,
Carolyn wants to ensure that this forward momentum continues by helping to
create a community that will serve as the faith foundation and inspiration
for her family as well as the rest of the parish community.
RICHARD
WALLACE
Dick Wallace, his wife, Janis, and their three children joined
Good Shepherd in August, 1972, locating themselves in the Mount Vernon area
when he returned from a tour in Vietnam. After completing 27 years of
service in the United States Air Force, he worked for the defense industry
for 13 years. He and his wife retired in 1999.
Presently, Dick serves as a Eucharistic Minister and a member
of the Stewardship Committee, and he was a member of the ReVisioning
Committee. He believes our parish is a strong, vibrant, faith-filled
community that will only continue to grow under its new, exciting Vision and
Mission statement that will guide the growth of the parish. The next task,
to develop a Strategic Plan, will outline what the parish community needs to
do to grow in its faith and to measure its progress in accomplishing that
growth. With years of strategic planning experience, Dick is committed to
providing Good Shepherd parish with a plan that serves each parishioner's
individual and family needs.
DEREK K.
WATERMAN
Derek has been blessed with a wonderful wife, Susan, of 13 years
and an amazing daughter, Christina (6). He is thankful that Susan, born
Catholic, has gently persuaded him over the years to join the church, and
that Christina has shown him why he
wants to serve and love as a Christian.
Derek joined Good Shepherd in July 2004 after a whirlwind of
circumstances (he thinks not a coincidence), and on June 26, 2005, he was
baptized and confirmed. Much of Derek’s life has been centered on service to
the nation in the U.S. Air Force. However, in this short period of time, he
had a desire to learn more through service to something much greater. He
wishes to serve because he believes that all have a seed of morality planted
in us, and it grows based on the environment and circumstances of life.
Derek enjoys helping others, in no small part, due to his upbringing and a
blessing of wonderful family and friends. Of late, he has had a calling to
increase his faith in God, love of all and service to those in need.
PHILIP L.
WILKERSON, JR.
Philip Wilkerson and his wife Carol joined Good Shepherd in the
fall of 1999. They have two children, Philip III, a junior at James Madison
University, and Lois, an eighth grader at St. Rita’s Catholic School in
Alexandria. A native of Hampton,
Virginia, Phil graduated from Hampton High
School as an Eagle Scout and from the Virginia Military Institute
in May 1972 as a Distinguished Military
Student and Distinguished Military Graduate, the first African American to
do so.
Phil commanded the Diamondback Battalion in Operations Desert
Shield and Desert Storm in 1991. Later, he
served as garrison commander of Fort Rucker, Alabama, and as commandant of
the Army’s Management Staff College, the first African American to hold that
position. Phil retired from the active Army in July 2002. He completed a
Masters of Public Administration program at George Washington University in
May 2005. Phil served two terms as the chairperson of the Agape Christian
Academy PTA, and he chaired a committee of concerned parents to build a
school playground at Agape. The Wilkerson family are regulars at the 10:30
a.m. Sunday Mass, where Carol is a Eucharistic minister. Both Phil and
Carol have participated at the International Festival, and Phil serves
regularly as one of the cooks at the parish’s spaghetti dinners.
