Gary Adams is the original member of
Trinity. The trio started in 1982 with three men and evolved to a quartet, mixed quartet and back
to a trio consisting of the present members. Gary has sang since he was a
teenager and started singing in the mid-60's at churches with his mother and
his mother-in-law in a group called "The Zionnaires" He is a
retired farmer and has been a county commissioner in Van Wert County, Ohio for
20 years. He started his 6th term as an elected official January 2,
2005. Gary attends and is a member of TrinityFriendsChurch
in Van Wert where he served as congregational song leader for many years.
He is on the church's music committee and sings on the Worship team. He
has been on several committees through the years, such as Stewardship and
Finance and been a delegate at Yearly Meeting in Canton, Ohio.
Gary and his wife Barbara are also Overseers at TrinityFriendsChurch. He is also
involved with Upwards basketball where he is a referee. Something that
certainly is not a requirement but helpful for this service comes from 30 years
of refereeing for high school boys basketball. Gary has always loved working with kids and
he thoroughly enjoys refereeing every Saturday for them in Upwards. He
also loves singing for his Lord and Savior and counts it a blessing to sing
with Cheryl and Kim.
Cheryl Burk grew up in a small UnitedBrethrenChurch where she sang
with her family at church events and area revivals. Even at a young age music
became very important to her. Over the years she sang with various local gospel
groups. In 1976 she married Stan Burk. They are the proud parents of three now
grown children, Eric (and wife Julie), Christie and Brian.She also has a beautiful granddaughter
Natalie who is 2 years old and is awaiting the arrival of a second grandchild
in October. She is the office
administrator at WeeCareLearningCenter in Van Wert, Ohio
where she taught Pre K for 18 years. In December of 1998 Gary Adams called her
and asked if she would consider joining Trinity. After talking with her family
and praying about it, she felt that this was an answer to prayer and a way to
serve the Lord and so she accepted the offer. She began singing with Trinity in
January 1999. "It is so very exciting to see how the Lord is leading
Trinity to help spread His word in song and to see how and where he will be
leading us in the future."
Kim Mason grew up as a pastor's daughter and
began singing in church at a very early age. She comes from a musical family and
reunions and family get-togethers were filled with Southern music. In high
school she sang in the Youth for Christ Contemporaries and then went on to
major in vocal music at DefianceCollege. After obtaining
her Bachelor's Degree in music education, she began her teaching career at
Delphos Jefferson Schools in Delphos,
Ohio. After 14 years of directing
the high school, junior high, and show choirs she felt the Lord calling her
into a new area. In November 2004 she began a new career as a social worker for
Community Health Professionals in Van Wert. She is the manager of the Help me
Grow Program and leads the Bereavement Group. She began singing with Trinity in
1994 and has seen God work in so many ways. No matter how busy her schedule
gets, God seems to work it all out when she puts Him first!
Stan Burk is married to Cheryl who sings
with Trinity. Stan helps to handle the sound for our group, (He helps us to sound better!!!)
Stan works at Eaton Corp in Van Wert,
Ohio and also is the maintenance
man for our church. In his spare time he is in also in charge of the sound at church.
Stan and Cheryl are the proud parents of three children: Eric (and wife Julie),
Christie and Brian. Stan and Cheryl are the proud grandparents of their 2 year
old granddaughter Natalie and also are looking forward to the arrival of their second
grandchild in October.Stan and Cheryl are
both excited to serve the Lord together in this area of ministry,
Mark Hartman is Director of Ministries at TrinityFriendsChurchand handles the sound for Trinity. Mark oversees all activities held
in the FamilyLifeCenter.
This includes scheduling and overseeing banquets, parties, and events held in
the Fireside Room, as well as sports and community events held in the
gymnasium. Major sporting events under his direction include the Upward
Basketball Program, Legends Basketball, and community sports events held in the
facility. In addition, Mark serves as the Administrator for the church's
financial and legal issues. He has a Bachelors Degree from Bowling GreenStateUniversity, along with
years of experience in the area of management.