Three Elected to Board of Governors

Three men were elected to the community’s board of governors on May 16 in South Bend: Charlie Fraga (Vancouver-Portland), Bob Magill (northern Virginia) and Pat Murphy (Servant Branch).

Each will serve a six-year term that begins on August 22, 2018. They will join eight other men who continue to serve on the board: Craig Lent (chairman, South Bend), John Zwerneman (South Bend), Jim Mysliwiec (northern Virginia), Nick Holovaty (Mission, Evansville), Joel Kibler (Vancouver-Portland), Phil Monaco (Corvallis), Sean Connolly (South Bend) and Mike Zusi (South Bend).

Pat was re-elected and will be serving his second consecutive term. Bob will be serving his first term. Charlie has served two prior 12-year stints on the board of governors, and will be starting a new six-year term. (Members who serve two terms consecutively are not immediately eligible for reelection, but can be reelected after a break.)

Current board members Mike Coney (New Orleans) and Bob McDonough (South Bend) will reach the end of their terms in August.

The board of governors is the highest authority in the People of Praise. The board’s responsibilities include electing the overall coordinator, establishing branches, determining official teachings, approving the budget and confirming appointments made by the overall coordinator, as well as other duties detailed in Principles of Structure and Government of the People of Praise.

Charlie Fraga, 66, is the principal branch coordinator for Vancouver-Portland, a position he has held since 2009. He is the president of Direct Development, a marketing firm he started in 1984, which currently has 23 employees and provides digital marketing services to universities and nonprofit organizations. Charlie was the first principal branch coordinator of the northern Virginia branch, a position he held from 1985 to 2003. More recently, he has spearheaded the branch’s community building efforts in north Portland, where 70 percent of the branch now lives. He is the president of the board of Trinity Academy, a school started by the Vancouver-Portland branch in 2011 which has grown to 102 students. Charlie and his wife Carmen have been married for 44 years and have four children: Lena Glover (Vancouver-Portland), Carlos Fraga, Tony Fraga (northern Virginia) and Julia Shek (northern Virginia), as well as ten grandchildren. He is a gourmet cook and a fluent Spanish-speaker.

Bob Magill, 55, has served since 2015 as principal branch coordinator for the northern Virginia branch. With a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, he runs his own consulting firm, Magill Technology Development. His clients are contractors who work primarily with government data networks. Bob’s community service has included stints as an area coordinator in the northern Virginia branch and as the campus division coordinator in the South Bend branch. He has also served for nine years as a member of the board of trustees for Trinity Schools. Bob and his wife Laurie married in 1990. They have five children: Jacqueline Magill (northern Virginia), David Magill, Andre Magill (South Bend), Stephen Magill (South Bend) and Robbie Magill. Bob is a trumpet player and over the years has enjoyed playing at charismatic conferences and serving in music ministry.

Pat Murphy, 64, has served as the Action division coordinator since the division began in Servant Branch in 2002. He also serves as the coordinator responsible for the branch’s growing outreach in West St. Paul. He is the academic dean of Trinity School at River Ridge, where he also teaches Humane Letters and chemistry and coaches wrestling. Pat and his wife Lee Ann moved to the Twin Cities from Florida in 1978 to join Servants of the Lord community. They joined the People of Praise in 1982 and were among the first group of Servant Branch members to make the covenant of the People of Praise in 1985.The Murphys have five children, Joshua Murphy, Jessica Bowden, Kristina Singleton, Elizabeth Murphy and Joe Murphy (Servant Branch), as well as nine grandchildren. Pat says he has loved living in household and adds that several dozen singles have lived in the Murphy house over the years. He enjoys reading history books and biographies.