Worship Arts July August September 2022

F E L L O W S H I P N E W S & N O T E S

C arla Swank Fox joined the national staff of The Fellowship as Communications Assistant in 2012. She brought with her expertise in digital media writing, social media, content strategy, audience analysis and research and multimedia storytelling. 1 And her influence was immediately evident. “Carla came to The Fellowship and vastly increased our ability to address the ever-changing digital world. But she brought with her an incredible array of had a lifetime of serving church music ministries so she really ‘got’ us. She al ways made us look better than we would otherwise, from proofing event materials to chapter newsletters. I always loved our frequent strategy sessions and valued her perspectives on both organizational manage ment and the practical day-to-day life of worship artists.” David Bone, Executive Director (1991-2021) O ver the past decade in the national office, Carla worked alongside five past presidents and many other leaders. Here are a few of their remembrances: “I’m sure she spent a lot of her time keeping David out of trouble.” Bill Carroll, Past President (2011-2013) “Carla has so many gifts, it is impossible to list them all! As every member of The Fellowship knows, her service to The Fellowship was exceptional. What our membership may not realize, but I suspect they certainly intuit, is the sheer joy it is to work with Carla! Her grace, her humor, her presence, and her tenacity always made me look forward to working with her on every project we tackled together. I give God thanks for Carla Swank Fox!” Joe Stobaugh, Past President, (2013-2015) “Though Carla was hired by The Fellowship shortly after my tenure as President, she was, indeed, an answer to prayer! She brought our media presence, website, publicity pieces, content, audience strategy, and publica tions into the 21st century. Her knowledge, skills, and energy with convocations after I became National Events Manager gave us a very professional presence for those events. We all know how very much she has contributed to the publicity, media, and organization of Music and Thank you, Carla! experiences and capabilities, from website and print media editorial and design work to her incredible writing ability. She also

Worship Arts Week. Most of all, I remember with joy the times that Carla, David, and I worked together (with much laughter) through many long days and nights pre paring for, and problem solving at, those events. Carla, The Fellowship and I will miss your skills, your humor, your zest for life, and your incredible insights.” Tom Taylor, National Events Manager (2014-2019), Past President (2009-2011) “Oddly, my memory of Carla is not directly related to any work project in The Fellowship. It’s from the weekend of David and Arlen’s wedding, when I got to come to Nashville to be there in person (who knew then that the words “in person” would become so meaning ful?!). Carla was really excited that this wedding was going to be an opportunity for Fellowship friends to get together, which we definitely did! But one of my favorite gath erings was when Carla and I met together, just the two of us, for ice cream, the day before the wedding. We talked and dreamed and shared as friends do, and I think that’s when it really sank in that Carla wasn’t just a very nice and talented staff person, but she had become my friend, a relationship that I value to this day.” Laura Jaquith Bartlett, Past President (2015-2017) “Carla has been an invaluable asset through her years of service to The Fellowship. Her work in designing our WorshipArts journal was an especially wonderful gift. We will miss her creativity and dedication but wish her well with her family and career.” Shawn Gingrich, Past President (2017-2019) O ver that same decade, Carla’s contributions grew and changed. She became Communications Director and in January of 2020, Carla became the editor of WorshipArts . She brought us into a whole new world of digital content and expanded design. Her January 2021 edition included the first photo essay and work-sheet style journaling section. You can see it here: https://content.yudu.com/web/2tzcz/0A2tzd6/ WorshipArtsJaFeMar21/html/index.html2 Three members of the WorshipArts Editorial Com mittee share their remembrances: “As a member of the WorshipArts Editorial Commit tee, I got to see Carla up close and personal in her role as Editor. Carla’s work as an editor was infused with pas

___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 28 July-August-September 2022 • WorshipArts • umfellowship.org