February 22, 2013
At its recent Summit meeting in Chicago, the Board of Directors elected Rev. George Borghardt to serve as President for the coming fiscal year, beginning May 1. Rev. Borghardt, Senior Pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in McHenry, Illinois, currently serves the organization as Conference Executive. He has served in this capacity since 2007. He succeeds Rev. William M. Cwirla, the current President, who will remain a Director on the Board. Rev. Cwirla had previously informed the Board that he did not wish to serve as an officer for the remaining year of his term.
Also at the meeting, Rev. Joel Fritsche was elected to a one-year term to complete the term vacated by the resignation of Rev. Jonathan Fisk. Mr. Chris Loemker and Chris Rosebrough were elected as Directors for three-year terms. Mr. Loemker was elected Treasurer, Rev. Fritsche, Secretary, and Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher, Vice-President.
Sandra Ostapowich was appointed Conference Executive. She will maintain all current responsibilities of conference coordinator in addition to those of the conference executive.
Officers of Higher Things are elected to one-year terms. Directors are elected to three-year terms for a maximum of six years. All elections and appointments begin May 1, 2013, the beginning of Higher Things’ fiscal year.
The mission of Higher Things is to assist parents, congregations, and pastors in cultivating, encouraging and promoting a distinctively Lutheran identity among their youth and young adults. Join us this summer for From Above, our 2013 youth conference in Scranton, Pennsylvania (June 25-28), West Lafayette, Indiana (July 9-12) and Tacoma, Washington (July 16-19).
