William “Bill” Loeble, Jr.

Bill has served as elder multiple terms while at Forest Lake PC (Columbia) and First PC (Covington, GA), Clerk of Session several times at each church, as a member Presbytery Council of Greater Atlanta Presbytery, and chair of the Pastor Nominating Committee (Forest Lake PC). He is the retired CEO of Beaver Manufacturing Company in Mans eld, GA. Bill has devoted a lifetime of service to Boy Scouts of America: Eagle Scout, Silver Beaver Award, Silver Antelope Award, Silver Bu alo Award. He is a member Coastal Carolina Council Executive Board; member of three separate nation- al commi ees; and twice Past Chairman of the Board of Newton County (GA) Chamber of Commerce. Bill and his wife, Diane, have been married 54 years and reside in Franke at Seaside. They have one son and one daughter, four grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Their son and his wife, Dexter and Jolie, are also members of Palme o. Bill says, “I look forward to once again serving Jesus Christ and the church in a leadership role.

Avis Griffith

Presbyterianism has always been a part of my adult life. My husband Jeff and I moved to Charlotte in 1984 and needed a church home. Since there was a combination of Baptist and Methodist in our blood, the Presbyterian church seemed to be a good compromise. We enjoyed 20 years in Charlotte as members of Sardis Presbyterian. In 2001, we moved to Charleston and became members of Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian. During that time, I was blessed with numerous opportunities to serve, including Local Missions, International Missions, elder, and the launching of the Hope House. I am a recently retired Speech Pathologist and enjoy the time to boat, fish, and read. We love Montreat and also spend as much time there as we can. The Griffith family includes children Jay, Elizabeth, and Rick, along with their spouses Michelle, Casey, and Michele. The best of all, however, are our three wonderful grandchildren, Liam, Callie, and Lola (with one more expected in the summer). Prior to the pandemic, we began attending Palmetto. We had watched the church grow from a seed church to becoming a vibrant congregation. After visiting for a while, it became clear that God was leading us to become members of this body of believers. I look forward to developing new relationships and serving God in this wonderful congregation.

Albert van Overeem

Albert van Overeem is a lifelong Presbyterian, beginning at Pitts Creek Presbyterian, where he joined and served as a Youth Elder. He has been an active elder previously at the Christian Community Presbyterian Church of Bowie, MD, and Palmetto Presbyterian Church. Albert and his wife, Shelly, have been happily married for 28 years and have three children. The van Overeem’s are charter members of Palmetto Presbyterian Church, and their children Eric, Talina, and Josh grew up with Palmetto’s youth program. Albert founded Oak Homes, LLC, and has been a professional home builder for over 25 years. He earned a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and is a licensed residential builder, general contractor, and broker. Albert is also an active Life Member and Past President of the Charleston Home Builders Association and has served as a BSA Crew Advisor for Crew 502 and has participated for many years as an Assistant Scout Master for Troop 502.

Derrick Russ

Derrick Russ is a lifelong Presbyterian and attended First Presbyterian Church in Myrtle Beach, SC, where he grew up during the school year, and William & Mary Hart Presbyterian Church in Leggett, NC, where he worked on his grandparents’ farm in the summers. He graduated from Myrtle Beach High School in 1989 and then from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 1993. After college, Derrick and his wife Lori moved around between Washington D.C. and San Mateo, CA, before returning to Mount Pleasant in 2002. Derrick and Lori are charter members of Palmetto and have two children, Caitlin (22) and Zachary (18), and one granddaughter, Essie (1). Zachary and Caitlin were active in the youth ministry program, and Essie is due to be baptized at PPC soon. Lori has served as an elder, sings in the choir, and is very involved in VBS each summer. Derrick was ordained and served as an elder for PPC from 2014 to 2017. Derrick is active in the Men’s Ministry Program and was one of the men responsible for starting the Hike Ministry at Palmetto. He enjoys cooking and woodworking and has volunteered his time for both at PPC, preparing meals for different events and building a few small projects around the church.

Sarah Wright

Sarah grew up in Moncks Corner and went to Berkeley High School. She attended Clemson University and graduated in Graphic Communications in 2003. After college, Sarah worked at MeadWestvaco in Atlanta, GA, managing the Coca-Cola secondary packaging account. While in Atlanta, she started dating Ryan, and they married in 2006. Their wedding was held at First Baptist Moncks Corner, and they had their reception at Cypress Gardens. Afterward, they honeymooned in Australia (Sarah says it's her favorite trip yet!). Then, they moved to Smyrna, GA, where Sylvi (2009) and Auggie (2011) were born. Sarah and Ryan realized they wanted to be closer to family, so they moved to Mount Pleasant in 2014. Since then, Sarah has had several volunteer and part-time jobs. She loves spending time with her family, traveling, reading, and watching movies. Their family has been members of PPC for over 6 years, and she has loved volunteering with the children's ministry. Sarah is honored to be nominated to become an elder and looks forward to learning and growing through this new journey.

Holly Horsman

Holly has served on Session in the Elder Class of 2015 and as Clerk of Session at PPC for eight of the past nine years. Although moving throughout her youth with her Air Force family, she considers herself a lifelong Presbyterian. She met her husband, Marshall, at First Presbyterian Church in Mooresville, NC, where they were both single parents raising two teenagers. They were married in 2006, and once all four children (Hannah, Hunter, Marshall, and Emily) were launched to college, they moved to Mt. Pleasant to live in the Darrell Creek Neighborhood.

Holly works as a Legal Assistant at Willson, Jones, Carter & Baxley, P.A., and Marshall is retired but has a “stay-out-of-trouble, fun job” part-time at Ace Hardware. Holly joined the choir during the pandemic in order to support Marshall, a long-time PPC Choir Member. Her passion is Missions, both local (Turkeys for Huger) and abroad. Marshall and Holly have traveled together on several Mission Trips to Guanajuato, Mexico, and separately to Haiti and Puerto Rico. 

Shane Shaarda

My faith journey began when I was born to Christian parents, who taught me about Jesus from the time I was born. I became aware of my own sin and NEED for Jesus as my Lord and Savior while attending Bible camp in Helen, GA when I was 10 years old. I attended Covenant College, where I met my amazing wife Lynn. We have 3 boys, Nick (24), Zach (22) and Josh (18). I have been self-employed since 1997, working as a manufacturer’s representative for several home furnishing company’s. My territory is SC and GA. I also sing with the Charleston Men’s Chorus, where I serve as the Tenor 1 section leader. Raised in the Presbyterian church since I was 2 years old, I have served as Sunday School teacher, Deacon Chairman (Eastbridge Presbyterian Church), and as an elder (Two Rivers Presbyterian Church). Our family has been members of Palmetto Presbyterian since 2018.

Adam Ferrara

Adam is a native Charlestonian. He was raised in West Ashley and attended the College of Charleston. He started his career as a home builder with John Wieland Homes and moved to Charlotte, NC, in 2001. Adam is now a commercial general contractor and real estate developer with offices in Fort Mill, SC, and Mount Pleasant, SC. In 2003, he met Becky, and they were married in 2005. They moved to Fort Mill, SC, where they attended Unity Presbyterian. Adam served on many councils, committees, and boards and was a deacon at Unity Presbyterian, where he led the building and grounds committee. Adam and Becky joined Palmetto Presbyterian in 2018 along with their three children, Michael (14), Caroline (12), and George (5). They live in Rivertowne Country Club. 

Ralph Wetherell

Ralph Wetherell and his family have been worshiping and growing with Palmetto Presbyterian Church for over eight years. He comes to us from within our congregation, having served as an elder. Ralph is on staff at Palmetto as a Lay Pastor Commissioned by the Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery.  During his Lay Pastor process, Ralph felt a deeper call to gain a better insight and understanding of his faith. Currently, both he and his wife, Terri, are completing seminary.  Ralph has earned a Masters in Christian Leadership. 

  “I am a tent-maker, in that I have realized a thirst and passion to serve God and the church in a bigger way, but I also go to work every day to earn a living for my family.  I have come to realize and enjoy the fact that there are a large number of folks out there who do just that. Palmetto is blessed with caring folks who live this life daily; I really love this about our church. We are a community of Christ-like people who desire to serve, not because of duty, but because of a burning passion!”

Ralph and his wife, Terri, together have four children: Tayler, Alex, Richard, and Harrison. Harrison is attending Clemson University, They also have been blessed with two grandchildren, Anne Elliott, and Price.