ECPA Announces Four New Board Members


May 1, 2006, Newport Beach, CA -- The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) elected four new members to its board of directors during the annual ECPA Management Conference held in Newport Beach, CA. The new board members elected to a first three-year term are Carol Holquist of Discovery House Publishers and Scott Blume of Harrison House Inc. Kent Wilson of NavPress and Dr. Hardy Weathers of Nazarene Publishing House were elected to a second three-year term. The ECPA Board is charged with the general oversight of all of ECPA, including staffing, future initiatives and financial oversight.

“We have a remarkable and talented group in our newly elected board members,” says ECPA president Mark Kuyper. “We want the ECPA board to reflect the diversity and uniqueness found in the entire community of Christian faith.”

Carol Holquist is the publisher for Discovery House Publishers, and has been a part of the team since the company’s founding in 1988. Discovery House publishes original titles as well as manages the worldwide rights for the Oswald Chambers and Ray Stedman material. Prior to her role at Discovery, Holquist served in several management positions at Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins.

With more than a decade of experience at Harrison House Inc., Scott Blume currently serves at the Chief Operating Officer of this Oklahoma-based publishing company. Harrison House is one of the largest publishers of books and gifts for spirit-filled Christians. Before coming to Harrison House, Blume ran a family sporting goods store, where he served as the organization's Vice President, has worked in the product department for Sandi Patty, and served in sales for PraiseGathering Music, then a division of Gaither Music Company.

Kent Wilson serves as Executive Publisher over all of NavPress and in that role he oversees operation of all three major divisions—NavPress Books (which publishes 70 new books annually), The Message Bible division and the periodicals division (which publishes Discipleship Journal and Pray! magazines). Wilson serves on a wide variety of nonprofit boards and is currently a PhD candidate studying stewardship and a leadership model for nonprofit organizations.

As the president of Nazarene Publishing House, Dr. Hardy Weathers oversees all publishing operations of this nearly century-old denominational publisher including Beacon Hill Press, WordAction Publishing, Lillenas Music Publishing, Barefoot Ministries. He has held several leadership positions within the Nazarene denomination, including Vice President of Enrollment Development at MidAmerica Nazarene Unveristy and Minister of Music at Olathe College Church of the Nazarene.

Mark D. Taylor of Tyndale House Publishers has served as Chairman of the ECPA board for the last four years and will be stepping down. Mike Hyatt of Thomas Nelson Publishers will go from Vice Chairman to Chairman. The other new positions elected include Byron Williamson of Integrity Publishers, Inc., as Vice Chairman and Dwight Baker of Baker Publishing Group as Secretary.

Existing Executive Committee Board members for ECPA include Treasurer John Howard (Howard Publishing) and Executive Committee Member-At-Large Kent Wilson (NavPress). Additional Members of the ECPA Board are Robert Fryling (InterVarsity Press), Bill Korte (Group Publishing, Inc.), Andrea Mullins (New Hope Publishers), Gregg Stutt (FamilyLife Publishing), Hardy Weathers (Nazarene Publishing House), and C. Jeffrey Wright (Urban Ministries, Inc.).

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