Dear Pacific Union Member:

Never in the history of the Pacific Union (which goes back over 100 years) has anything like this ever happened. I, for one, hope it never does again. In one four month period, we lost three of our four union officers.

Wayne Shepard, vice president, retired in September after 44 years of service to the church. He is now living in Austin, Texas.

Leon Sanders, treasurer, retired at the end of December after 46 years of service. He is now living in St. George, Utah.

Ernie Castillo, secretary, was elected vice president of the North American Division. He will be moving to Silver Spring, Md.

I deeply appreciate the outstanding service given to the members of the Pacific Union over the years by each of these three leaders. It has been a joy to work with them. May God richly bless them each.

On Nov. 17, the Pacific Union Executive Committee elected three new officers. They will be moving into their new responsibilities over the next few weeks.

Dr. Ricardo Graham, currently president of the Northern California Conference, has been elected as the new secretary of the union. Graham brings extensive pastoral and administrative experience to his new responsibilities. His wife, Audrey, is an educator. They have two children.

Ted Benson, the union undertreasurer, was elected as the new treasurer. Ted has worked in various treasury responsibilities for the last 30 years. In addition, he has considerable computer and technical skills. His wife, Beverly, is the registrar for all academies in the Pacific Union and secretary to the union educational director, Kelly Bock. They have one son.

Arnold Trujillo, currently president of the Hawaii Conference, was elected as the new union vice president. He has served in educational, pastoral and administrative positions in a wide variety of responsibilities. His wife, Deloris, is also an educator. They have two children.

This is the first time we have three former conference presidents of Pacific Union conferences serving as union officers at the same time. Our new treasurer has experience at both Loma Linda Medical Center and Glendale Adventist Medical Center. As you can see, all the officers are well acquainted with the unique facets of God’s work in this union. That should help to bring the new team together quickly.

I look forward to working with these new officers and tackling the challenges of a new year. We ask you to remember us in prayer for heavenly wisdom as we each seek to make a difference for God.

Sincerely your friend,

Tom Mostert, President

Pacific Union Conference