Stewart Smith
General Presbyter
stewart@presbyark.org
Office – (501) 663-2424
Cell – (479) 466-0195
Stewart Smith is a lifelong Presbyterian who was born as a preacher’s kid in Charlotte, NC. He moved to Arkansas while in the first grade and grew up in the Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church in Forrest City. He served on one of the earliest versions of the Presbytery of Arkansas Youth Council while in High School. He graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX with a degree in Accounting and became a member of First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio where he was elected a deacon.
After several years of work with Diamond Shamrock Refining and Marketing Company he experienced a call to the ministry and attended Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While there he did a year-long internship at the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, VA and served for a year as a student co-pastor at the Youngblood Memorial Presbyterian Church in Robinson, TX. After graduation from seminary Stewart served as Associate Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, AR for seven years. In 2001 he accepted a call to become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Springdale and served there until accepting the call to become General Presbyter in October of 2015. In the Presbytery of Arkansas he has served on the Camps and Conferences Committee, the Christian Education Committee, the Committee on Preparation for Ministry and the Committee on Ministry. He served as Moderator of the Presbytery in 2007 and moderated the General Council in 2008.
Stewart is married to Laura, an elementary school teacher in Maumelle and they have two sons, Ryan and Alex. In his spare time, Stewart enjoys biking, jogging, golf, skiing and watching sports year round.
Blake Brinegar
Stated Clerk
revbrinegar@gmail.com
Cell – (870) 321-9102
Sarah Leer
Transitional Youth & Young Adult Developer
Dr. Sarah Leer (she/her) is a native Arkansan who has served non-profits for over a decade including Presbyterian Church (USA) churches in Austin, Dallas, and Northwest Arkansas. Sarah is a graduate of Wake Forest University, Columbia Theological Seminary, and the Clinton School of Public Service. She is a practical theologian who is living into her call to deconstruct systems and disrupt the status quo in order to seek liberation, justice, and belonging in solidarity with those living on the margins. A lifelong Presbyterian, Sarah has served as a Young Adult Volunteer in New Orleans, as the Moderator of the Young Adult Volunteer Alumni Council, as the Adult Co-Moderator for the Youth Advisory Team and on CPM for the Presbytery of Arkansas, and on the board of the Presbyterian Youth Workers’ Association. Sarah enjoys singing Broadway songs in her car, random road trips and adventures, geeking out over pop culture, traveling the world with friends, hanging out with her family, board games, watching SEC college football, and attending youth conferences that include energizers.
Kim Palmer
Administrator
kim@presbyark.org
Office – (501) 663-2424
Kimberly recently repatriated to Arkansas after living in Texas for over ten years where she owned and operated two community newspapers with her late husband. She has over 30 years of experience in accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, tax filing, and financial statements including account reconciliations. She also has five years of experience working with a non-profit agency and managing financial statements with federal and state billing and yearly audits. She also periodically has bookkeeping clients that she prepares financial statements to help clients with their income tax preparation. She has completed course work at the University of Central Arkansas in pursuit of a degree.
In her spare time, she spends time with her daughter who is a college student in Texas, enjoys reading, genealogy, exploring the outdoors and mother to two cats, Bell and Dot.
Julie Price
Presbytery Connector
julietannerprice@gmail.com
Cell – (501) 626-6477
Julie was born and raised in Pine Bluff and is a life-long Presbyterian. Her first job in the church was as summer youth director at First Presbyterian, Pine Bluff. The following year, she married her high school sweetheart, Jeff Price and they attended Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA where they both received their Master of Arts in Youth Ministry. They were called to First Presbyterian Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi and then returned to First Presbyterian Church in Pine Bluff where they worked in ministry with children, youth and their families. During those years, Jeff was ordained to word and sacrament. In 2002, he was called to Trinity Presbyterian Church in Little Rock where Julie now serves as the Christian Educator and as a ruling elder. For the last 10 years she has served on the Presbytery’s Resource Center board. Julie and Jeff have two children, Tanner and Becca, a son-in-law, Max, and a poodle, Romeo. Julie loves to read, garden, swim, play the guitar and sing.
Mike Szabo
Moderator of Presbytery
Mike Grew up in South Bend, Indiana. He attended parochial grade school staffed by the Holy Cross Nuns (where Catechism class was a daily occurrence for 8 years!). He graduated from Indiana University with a BS in Business Administration and minors in marketing, English literature, and voice.
Mike spent 44 years in the food industry where he eventually became a vice president of sales and marketing and worked with the major food service distributors and manufacturers throughout the United States. Food was his career and a hobby, and he continues to enjoy both cooking and matching wines with the meal.
His early career was spent in the Midwest, but after extensive business travel in the south, he moved to this region 40 years ago and has spent the last 35 years in Searcy where he and his family joined the First Presbyterian church 27 years ago. After retiring 8 years ago, Mike and his wife decided that after living in 14 different locations, Arkansas was the best! He has served as a deacon, elder, liturgist, choir member and leader of two PNC’s and is the founder and facilitator of the FPC Searcy wine club which is now in its 20th year. Mike was a member of the Presbytery Listening Committee that drafted the Ministry Manual (now revised), and currently serves on an Administrative Commission.
Mike is married to Marcia, and they will celebrate 53 years of marriage in 2023. They have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Son Joe (married to Tamara) of Rolla Missouri, and daughter Tracey of Creswell, Oregon, married to Damon who is a family physician and Colonel in the Oregon National Guard.
Mike and Marcia enjoy singing together at church and with The Edensong Regional Chorale (they met in high school choir) and traveling on “soft adventures” with National Geographic. They have kayaked in Alaska, the Sea of Cortez, the coastal waters of Maine and South Carolina and enjoy hiking wherever they go. Besides food and wine, Mike fishes, rides a semi recumbent bike, and is an avid reader.
Emmett Powers
Vice-Moderator of Presbytery
Cell – 501-424-8763
Emmett Powers serves the Presbyterian Kirk of the Hills in Fairfield Bay, AR. He graduated from West Memphis High School. He received a BA in Religion and Philosophy from Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR, an MDiv from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY with an emphasis in Pastoral Ministry, an MA in Heritage Studies from Arkansas State University, and a DMin, from Golden Gate Theological Seminary in San Francisco, CA, where he was presented the Outstanding Doctoral Student Award for his research on evangelism in urban contexts.
He has provided leadership to new church developments which were language-culture congregations, served as a senior pastor, been an urban church consultant, led mission groups, and developed a food pantry that connects to a food bank in Arkansas. He has also taught Spanish language in a community college and in a classroom setting for high school students. For several years he read in a study cohort endorsed by the John Leith Foundation, reading at Princeton, McCormick, and Austin seminaries. Emmett has had a meaningful ministry in his role as MWS, first and last here in the Presbytery of Arkansas, but also in Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery, John Calvin Presbytery (MO), and New Covenant Presbytery (TX). He served Arkansas presbytery’s various committees and commissions, served as solo pastor, stated supply, interim pastor, transitional pastor, and guided the development of a disaster response team for the presbytery.
He is married to Virginia K. Morris Powers, portrait artist and historical interpreter, celebrating fifty years together in 2022. His pursuits are observing trains and night skies, researching old roads like the Southwest Trail for the ARDOT, writing historical research, and spending time with his two children and six grandchildren. He is a lifetime SL Cards fan. He honorably retired in 2019 while serving in Beaumont, TX.
Susan Arnold
Moderator of the Coordinating Team
Susan Matthews Arnold serves the First Presbyterian Church of Springdale, AR. She graduated from Pine Bluff High School, received a BA in English/Psychology from Rhodes College, an MATS in Pastoral Counseling from Gordon-Conwell TS, an MDiv from Austin PTS, and a DMin in Preaching back at G-CTS. While living in Boston, she was privileged to work with youth of her church in the Roxbury/Dorchester neighborhoods. Since ordination, Susan has served as an Associate in Danville, Ill. and Logansport, IN; as a co-pastor in Hot Springs and Texarkana; and as a solo pastor in Wynne and Springdale. Susan has served on the Personnel Committee of the Synod of Lincoln Trails and was a delegate to the General Assembly Committee from that same Synod, she served on the COPM in Wabash Valley Presbytery, the Administration Committee in Pines Presbytery, and the Care & Nurture of Church Professionals and the COM committees in Arkansas Presbytery. She served Wabash Valley Presbytery as a delegate to the 212th General Assembly in 2000 in Long Beach, CA.
While at APTS, she met and married John Arnold. They have two children, Ruth (Kyle) Amensen and Matt(hew). Ruth serves as the Mission and Program Coordinator for Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center. Matt is a law-enforcement officer in LR.
Besides believing she gets to practice the best profession in the entire world, Susan loves to work in the yard, bike ride, jog, read fiction, watch movies, and cook with her husband.
Tom Verdery
Treasurer
Tom was the Moderator of the Committee on Administration for 2020 & 2021 and has been a member for many years on this committee (and a previous moderator) within the Presbytery. He is an Elder and current Treasurer at First United Presbyterian Church, Fayetteville where he has been a member since 1989. Tom was born in Fort Worth, Texas, yet was raised both in Texas and New York where his father’s career moved him.
Tom has over 34 years of experience working with Procter & Gamble, of which his last 14 years were spent working exclusively outside the US. After retirement from P&G, he was Executive in Residence at the Soderquist Center for Leadership & Ethics and Professor in Business at John Brown University specializing in Leadership & International Studies until his retirement in July 2018. Since then, Tom does part-time Executive Coaching and adjunct teaching at JBU’s Graduate School in Marketing Strategy.
Tom holds an MBA from The University of Dallas and a BBA from Texas Tech University. Tom enjoys spending his free time traveling with his wife of 43 years, Barbara along with fishing both locally and across the US. They have two sons, Christopher, and Scott, who is married to Allie with their grandchild Zelda.