Staff

These staff members are regular missionary staff of Hickory Cove Bible Camp that work here year-round. Get more info about how you can support them.

Chuck Myers

Chuck Myers and his lovely wife Ruth have four children by birth along with a son who, though not a birth child, holds a special place in their hearts. Jason and his wife Julie have given them a beautiful granddaughter named Sophia. Kristina is married to Joe Presson and lives in Dubuque, Iowa. Caleb lives and works in the Taylorsville area and is active both at Hickory Cove and his local church. Bethany graduated from high school this past year and Joel is entering his junior year.

Previous to Hickory Cove, Chuck and Ruth served the Lord in full-time ministry and through their local church. They have always had a heart for families and youth and love the opportunity to share the love of the Savior whenever they can. Chuck has served as a church elder for almost 9 years, has been involved with Christian camping for nearly 30 years, served on the boards of a number of ministries and groups, and has enjoyed teaching God’s Word in a number of different settings.

Luke Thomas

Luke has served as Property Manager since 2000. His responsibilities include everything from daily maintenance of the facilities to managing new construction projects as the Camp grows. Luke is an experienced carpenter and is skilled at many of the other trades necessary for maintaining the Camp.

Luke and his wife, Ruth-Ann, moved to North Carolina from Wisconsin where they both served at Living Waters Bible Camp. Ruth-Ann was the Hickory Cove program director for three years (2001-2003) and now works side by side with Luke as needed. Ruth-Ann is also responsible for the flowers around the property. Her creativity is demonstrated in ideas for many areas of the Camp.

Wolf Salewski

After having served in various summer staff positions for 30 years, Wolf & Char Salewski relocated from Wisconsin to join the full-time staff of Hickory Cove Bible Camp in 2004.

Wolf’s background is in Business Administration, graduating from the University of Wisconsin and is now the Business Director, working closely with Chuck to handle the business and financial aspects of Camp. Char, graduating from Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing, has taken on the Health Care Administration responsibilities of Camp.

Together they have enjoyed raising their two daughters, both of whom are married now. They have one granddaughter. Char & Wolf live just around the corner from Camp and look forward to seeing many of you throughout the year.

Josh Nixon

Josh & Lauren have served Hickory Cove as counselors and summer staff for many years, and have been part of our year-round staff since their marriage in May 2005. Josh is the Program Director, and is responsible for planning and management of programming and staff for all camp sessions, as well as helping to facilitate guest groups and promotional events.

On August 10, 2008, Josh and Lauren Nixon became the proud parents of Russell Emory Nixon. Russell enjoyed his first Lumberjack Weekend in October 2008. Russell was joined by new brother Tobias Alan Nixon on December 24, 2009.

Rachal Siler

Rachal Siler is originally from Wisconsin, where she was saved at a young age. She has a long history with Christian camping, beginning with Living Waters Bible Camp, which she attended as a child. When she was fourteen, Rachal moved with her family to Taylorsville, when her father, Dean Siler, became the Maintenance Director at Hickory Cove Bible Camp. While living in Taylorsville, Rachal served as a counselor and kitchen helper.

In 2000, Rachal moved with her family to Ocean Isle Beach. After graduating high school she moved back to Wisconsin to intern at Living Waters Bible Camp where her uncle Dennis Siler is Executive Director. There she worked with Pam Thomas in the food service ministry, eventually filling the position of Kitchen Manager.

Following the summer of 2009, Rachal moved back to Ocean Isle to help her family with their construction business and ministry, Faith Building Missions.  Rachal joined the Hickory Cove full-time staff as Food Service Manager in September 2010.

Sylvia Mooney

Sylvia Mooney serves as our camp registrar, and keeps busy registering campers and managing many other office projects at Hickory Cove. She assists our Executive Director, Chuck Myers, in a wide range of administrative and secretarial duties.

Sylvia and her husband Steve have served the Lord at Hickory Cove for many years and in a variety of ways. Steve often serves camp as Head Cook for various sessions. They and their two daughters, Rebekah & Melissa, are familiar faces at Camp!

Karen Hopewell

After spending a summer at Camp in 2010, Karen Hopewell joined the Hickory Cove Bible Camp staff as Program Coordinator in May 2011. Her creativity and willingness to serve are a tremendous blessing in key programming areas. Following the summer of 2010, Karen decided to move from her home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Hickory Cove. Karen has been working part-time in the Hickory area since last fall, and volunteering at Camp as much as possible. In her role as Program Coordinator, Karen will work directly with Josh in developing program themes, schedules, and activities, as well as assisting in the supervision of volunteer programming staff.

Rick Stewart

Rick Stewart, who attended Hickory Cove as a child, reconnected with the Camp in 2009 over the 50th anniversary celebration. Rick served as a summer staff member during 2009-2010 and remained at Camp full-time following the summer of 2010. Rick works as a Program Facilitator and manages the daily operations of the Trading Post. Year-round, Rick also helps with office work and guest group facilitation.

As a child, Rick was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Doctors assessed that with the severity of his disorder, Rick would barely reach five years of age. Statistically speaking, the average life span of an adult who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis is 38 years old. Rick is fortunate to be ahead of that curve.

One of the most rewarding aspects of Rick’s life is to be able to live out his passion by using the days that he has been blessed with to lead children to develop their relationships with Christ. In order to alleviate many of the struggles that Rick is currently experiencing, and to extend the odds of life by several years, a lung transplant needs to be performed. To keep up with the status of Rick’s lung transplant, visit this Facebook page.