Joyce W. Foster

Joyce has been a member of this church since 1968, and has served as Secretary , and then Office Manager for twenty-two years.

 She was hired as Secretary for the church on April 24, 1984 for six hours a week. As the job has grown, with Joyce taking on more responsibilities such as the rental work for both buildings, as well as interfacing with all Boards, Committees, church members and friends, and those in need, answering the telephone, doing the weekly bulletins and the monthly newsletter, her hours have expanded to 22 hours per week.

 Joyce took Office Training courses in high school along with College Prep. courses.  She has also taken several courses at Champlain College.  She worked for two years with the Neighborhood Youth Exchange during high school, gaining office experience working for the local Selective Service Board.  Her first “official” job was as part of the office staff at Polymer’s Inc, dealing with shipping manifestos and bills of lading for all products.  She worked the next two summers as an office temp for Polymer’s so that all members of the office staff could take their vacations.  When one of the office staff suffered a heart attack in 1973, Joyce filled in for three months so that the work could continue uninterrupted.  Joyce volunteered for several years at Round Robin Thrift Shop, serving as assistant manager under Liz Hunt from 1982-84.   

Joyce is married to James H. Foster, Sr.  They are part-owners/operators of Foster Brothers Farm Inc and Vermont Natural Ag Products.  Joyce and Jim have three grown children, Karen, Jim Jr., and Mark, who are all married, and have blessed them with four grandchildren – MaKayla, Ashlynn, Colin, and Caleb.  Joyce enjoys taking care of them when needed.

 Joyce loves to garden, whether flowers or vegetables; she cans and freezes vegetables and fruits for family use.  She enjoys knitting; you’ll see some of her blankets each year at the Holiday Bazaar.  She also loves making yeast breads, another donation to the Bazaar each year.  In her quiet time, she enjoys reading, and has been a Qualified Reader for the Church for many years for the “Adventures in Reading” program on the state level.