the Season of Our Joy Organizational Staff
Season of Our Joy is staffed 100% by volunteers who give their time and expertise to making sure you have a beneficial and enjoyable festival experience. Come meet our staff . . .
Tim and Angie Kelley - began their Torah based lifestyle in
their early teens as part of a large Sabbath observant church
organization. In 1995, the then-current leaders of that church
set out to dismantle all that the founder had establish, and by so
doing, destroyed the organization. This led to Tim and Angie
leaving that organization and subsequently getting interested in the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith.
Since that time, they have sponsored and co-sponsored numerous
seminars designed to teach others in the Christian community about their Hebrew roots and the joy that comes
from living a Torah-based lifestyle. Today they believe their main focus
should be to teach others who are turning
to God (Yahweh) and His Torah that they more than likely have ties to Israel - the people and the land.
In 2005 they started their own ministry - Ami Yisrael - for the purpose of teaching what they have learned over the years in their Bible studies. That same year, they started a Sabbath Torah study that they call "the Ami Yisrael Fellowship" Their ministry web site is www.amiyisrael.org.
Tim and Angie own a small custom cabinet business (www.woodmillcabinets.com) near their home from which he is semi-retired and she does the bookkeeping. Tim enjoys working around the house, flying airplanes, and taking evening walks with his wife of 32 years and their puppy dog "Caleb". Angie loves her garden and playing with the grandchildren.
Tim and Angie have been the sponsors and principle organizers of the Season of Our Joy Festival since 1999. Their main responsibilities for the festival include securing the speakers, leading and organizing the Dance, making all the arrangements with the host facility (Windermere), housing, bookkeeping, coordinating all the various departments, and simply making sure it all comes together.
Ron and Donna McKown - have been married for 40 years and in this walk of faith for about 20.
Ron came from a non-practicing Baptist background and Donna had little religious training. For almost 10 years
they have held
Sabbath services in 3 different prison units and now have over 100 men that we regularly minister to. Over this
period of time they have baptized over 25 men and met many wonderful brothers that are imprisoned.
They get them literature,
send in matzos at Passover and try to fill whatever need we can with our limited funds.
Ron continues to work as a masonry contractor to earn the daily bread. Donna works for a tax preparation service during tax season, works in the year round office and teaches classes to new employees.
They have 2 sons and 3 granddaughters who live close by. They hold a monthly Torah study in their home and work with that group to put on regional events at holidays where they invite the public and offer teachings to them. Donna is a true Proverbs 31 woman caring for the 10 acre "ranch" where we raise a few cattle and chickens as well as a large garden.
Ron and Donna attended the very first Season of Our Joy back in 1999, and with the death of Mitchell Smith (co-founder), stepped right in to help pick up the slack. Their primary function through the years has been in the organization and preparation of all the Fellowship Meals. Their other responsibilities have included organizing the Fun Show and managing the Resource Room.
Lee and Jackie Miller - come from central Virginia where he was raised as a Southern Baptist.
In the 90’s, he was challenged as to whether the Torah had actually been done away with. He found it hadn’t!
Lee first attended Season of Our Joy in 2000, and became part of the staff in 2002 (SOOJ did not host the festival in 2001). In addition to his presentations at the Season of Our Joy, Lee leads the Praise & Worship, coordinates the sound, video production, PowerPoint presentations, and the live Internet broadcast. He also helps keep the SOOJ website current. Jackie teaches and organizes the Praise & Worship Sign Language teams.
Lee and Jackie are currently congregational leaders for the House of David Fellowship, a Hebrew Roots assembly located in central Virginia. Their services are also available live via PalTalk.
Lee and Jackie currently reside in Richmond Virginia. They enjoy 3 wonderful daughters, 4 beautiful grandchildren, and 2 fun cats.
Mark and Linda Roth - grew up in Wisconsin. Mark has been
keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days since he was a young boy. Linda
began when she was 12. They married in December 1975 and made their
home in Soldotna, Alaska. Mark has done many things in his life:
raised and milked goats while he was a teenager, roofing barns,
construction work, commercial salmon and halibut fisherman, built
boats, traveled to many countries, owned and operated a salvage yard
and used car dealership. Linda loved school and crafts, and left
Wisconsin with her knight in shining amour to make a home in the
last frontier. She has been at Mark's side doing and helping with
many of the things he has embarked on, including being the
bookkeeper. They had 5 children, all born at home.
Mark began his salmon fishing business in June of 1977, and has been doing that every summer since, except for 1997. For ten summers they lived in a fish camp in the Alaskan bush where their third child was born in the early morning by kerosene lantern light. Now their children are grown, 3 are married, no grandchildren yet. 3 of their sons own their own salmon fishing boats.
Mark & Linda now reside in Homer, Alaska. They spend Sabbaths with a few other believers in small home meetings.
Though they have been observing the Feast of Tabernacle practically all their lives, Mark and Linda first attended Season of Our Joy in 2003 and immediately started pitching in. The next year, they joined the staff and for the past years have lead and served in a number of areas, primarily with the auditorium setup, meals, praise and worship, sound, and the Children's programs. Mark's current responsibilities include the Teen and Children's programs, the stage setup, the Fellowship meals, and the Fun Show.