Interim Pastor – Rev. Dr. Ken McKenzie

Our Interim Pastor, Ken McKenzie, is a native of Atlanta.  His wife, Vicki, hails from here in Dalton.  They met at the University of Georgia as students and were married in our church in 1978.

Ken graduated from UGA with a BA in English Literature and subsequently attended Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA where he received his Doctorate in Ministry.  He served as pastor, pastoral counselor, trauma chaplain and general presbyter until his Honorable Retirement in 2019.  He has served with us as Interim Pastor since November of 2022.

Ken and Vicki live in Blue Ridge, GA and have two grown sons, Mac and Ian, who like to say that they live close enough to come in an emergency but too far away to come cut the grass.  Additionally, the McKenzies enjoy their rescue dogs and occasional outings along the  Toccoa River.

Director of Christian Education- Jean Strain

After growing up in Tidewater Virginia, Jean attended Mary Baldwin College (now Mary Baldwin University) in Staunton, Virginia, graduating with degrees in Religion and Philosophy. Upon moving to Dalton with her husband Dan, she taught ballet at the Creative Arts Guild for a number of years before leaving to become the Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church Dalton. She went back to graduate school to obtain a specialist degree in Christian Education and became a Certified Educator in the Presbyterian Church (USA). In addition to teaching Bible studies for both adults and children, Jean also teaches Grief Recovery classes. Jean enjoys reading, sewing, being outdoors and is an unabashed bird watcher

Director of Music- Hye Jeong Kwon

Hye Jeong Kwon is a native of South Korea.  She received a bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2018 from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, where she studied voice, piano and conducting under Dr. J. W. Park and Dr. Ivan Konev.  While at the University of Wisconsin River Falls, she served as a vocal coach and Assistant Conductor for the Women’s choir.  She earned her Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting at Georgia State University in 2020.  While at Georgia State University, she studied under Dr. Deanna Joseph and Dr. Jennifer Sengin. During her time at GSU, she was awarded a Graduate Assistantship, and worked as an associate conductor of the GSU Master Singers.  During that time, she also served as a music intern at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.  Her responsibilities included conducting and rehearsing the orchestra, chancel choir and bell choir, as well as providing accompaniment for Wednesday and Sunday services.  Hye Jeong has been a member of J. W. Summer Festival Chorale, the semi-professional choir in Seoul, South Korea and was a music intern with the Seoul Metropolitan Children’s Choir.

Hye Jeong lives in Dalton with her husband, Daniel, and enjoys cooking Korean foods.

Hye Jeong’s mission is to use her musical talents to show her life goal, “Love God and Love People”.

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Office Manager – Erin Witt


Erin is a Dalton native who graduated from the State University of West Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in Finance.  After 11 years in the banking profession, she decided to take a few years off to be at home with her 2 sons, and then discovered she missed working.   If she’s not volunteering at the children’s school or at the ball field, Erin enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and kayaking.

Audio/Visual Technician – Alex Andrews


Alex began his journey into the AV world when he was introduced to computers. He built his own computer and started taking AV courses at school. The Coahulla High School student was actually introduced to the AV side of technology “four or five years ago.” Being a tech-oriented person, he saw the part-time church job as “a perfect opportunity” for him to be able to use his technical skills, enjoy being with people and attend church. While Alex is enjoying his job, he says his life goal is to become an officer in the Navy and then to enter politics. He describes himself as having a passion for politics, adding that he spends much of his free time keeping tabs on the world of politics. He would like to start as a state representative, then run for governor of Georgia.


Session

Our church is led by leaders elected from the congregation. We call them elders. They do everything from planning social events, to service projects, to teaching classes, to paying the power bill.

Current elders are:

Clerk of Session – Susan Bisson

Christian Education – Rob Lively

Congregational Life – Laura Allgood

Connection – Mike Brown

Facilities – Kathryn Sellers

Finance – Julie Tharpe

Mission – Alice Ensley

Staff – Sarah McCown

Worship – Leanna Granillo