Catholic Charities Appeal’s Deanery Chairs introduced

For The Catholic Week
MOBILE – The Catholic Charities Appeal is blessed with many great volunteers throughout the Archdiocese of Mobile. The Appeal could not happen without the generosity of time and hard work given by our ministry speakers, parish chairs, district chairs, deanery chairs and archdiocesan chairs. These amazing volunteers give so generously of their time, talents and treasure to ensure a successful appeal. Leading our volunteers are Mr. and Mrs. Tim Mullek, archdiocesan chairs.

Baldwin Deanery Chairs
Teresa and Don Rhodes graciously agreed to serve as the Baldwin/Escambia Deanery Co-Chairs for the Catholic Charities Appeal. Don and Teresa Rhodes are residents of Fairhope and parishioners at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Parish in Foley. Don is Truck Sales Manager at Sunbelt Fire, Inc. and Teresa is a retired private music teacher. Don and Teresa served as St. Margaret of Scotland Parish Chairs for the St. Michael Catholic High School Capital Campaign. Don is a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 8959. Teresa is Past President and currently Second Vice President of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women Baldwin-Escambia Deanery. Both are Lay Carmelites with Don serving as Director of St. John of the Cross Lay Carmelite Community and Teresa serving as the community’s secretary/treasurer. In their spare time, Don and Teresa enjoy attending Carmelite retreats and seminars.

Dothan Deanery Chair
Robert Amuso kindly agreed to serve the Catholic Charities Appeal as the Dothan Deanery Chair for a third year. He is married to one of his greatest blessings in life for more than 35 years, his wife Janet.
They are blessed with three wonderful children and seven grandchildren. Robert is most grateful that she guided him into the Catholic Faith. Honored to have served our country and retired from the US Army, he is now serving those children whose parents serve for our great country as a Media Specialist at Fort Rucker Schools. He is thankful that Mr. Sam Barranco, who has been helping with Catholic Charities for more than 40 years at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Ozark, came into his life to lead him down the same path of commitment to Catholic Charities.
He only prays that he can beat Sam’s record of more than 40 years!
Lastly, he wants to thank Sister Penny Smith for her great example in answering God’s Call to Give to those in need and shared a quote from the late Rev. Patrick Maher: “God is madly in love with you!”

Mobile Deanery Chair
Jo Dunaway graciously agreed to serve a as the Mobile Deanery Chair this year. Mrs. Dunaway is a past Chair for the Catholic Charities Appeal. Jo and her husband, Danny are members of Our Savior Parish where both serve as Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist.
Jo is currently on the Board of Advisors and past president of Catholic Social Services in Mobile.
She served as Chair for the very successful fund raising event, Wine Festival at Five Rivers for 3 years.
Jo and her husband were Co-chairs of the capital campaign to raise the funds for the beautiful and functional Catholic Social Services facility on Florida Street.
Mrs. Dunaway is recently retired from Hydro Technologies, a company she and her husband founded in 1984 and recently sold.
She has five children and eight grandchildren and is enjoying being a part of their lives and watching them grow.

Montgomery Deanery Chairs

Mr. and Mrs. Cary Kuhlmann kindly agreed to serve as the Montgomery Deanery Chair for the Catholic Charities Appeal for the first year. Cary and Lynne Kuhlmann settled in Montgomery in 1997 following Cary’s career opportunity to become Executive Director of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.
Lynne and Cary were born-and-raised in New Orleans and were educated in its Catholic School System. Lynne attended St. Francis Xavier grammar school and Holy Name of Jesus Mercy Academy (1967). Cary attended St. Catherine of Siena grammar school and Jesuit High School (1964). Cary and Lynne were members of St. Bede and Queen of Mercy parishes while their children attended Montgomery Catholic High School (Lyndsey 1999/Grant 2002). They have been members at St. Peter since 2002.
Lynne has been active in St. Peter’s St. Anne’s Guild, currently serving as its president. Currently, Cary and Lynne serve on St. Peter’s Building and Grounds Committee. Active in the Montgomery community, Cary and Lynne have volunteered with the Capital City Master Gardeners, the American Cancer Society, and the Samaritan Counseling Center where Cary serves as its Executive Director.