The Reverend Duke Tufty has been elected chairman of the Unity Board of Directors. His new position is effective immediately. Rev. Tufty is the senior minister of Unity Temple on the Plaza in Kansas City, and has been a member of Unity's Board since it was formed in February 2001. He is a 1990 graduate of the ministerial program at Unity Institute at Unity Village (formerly Unity School of Religious Studies). Reverend Tufty will replace Reverend Connie Fillmore Bazzy as chair. Reverend Bazzy will remain on the Board as a member for the next year.
Reverend Tufty will become the first non-Fillmore family member to head a primary Unity Board since the Unity Movement was co-founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889. Reverend Bazzy is the great-granddaughter of the founding Fillmores.
When Reverend Bazzy announced the formation of an independent board two years ago, she said she would remain on the board for three years until the transition to a more traditional non-profit management and board structure was complete. Since its inception, Unity had operated with an internal board of trustees made up of Unity employees and headed by one of the four generations of the Fillmore family.
Reverend Bazzy also announced the addition of five new board members who will begin their terms in 2004. Reverend Bazzy said, "The Board members bring to Unity great vision, spiritual connection, and business experience and expertise." Responsibilities of Unity's Board include setting policy, as well as fiscal and funding activities.
The new Board members are:
James Moore of Malibu, California. Moore is chairman and CEO of Beacon Point Holdings, LLC, an investment advisory firm.
Reverend Richard Mantei of San Rafael, California. Reverend Mantei is senior minister of Unity In Marin. He is a 1986 graduate of the ministerial program of Unity Institute at Unity Village (formerly Unity School of Religious Studies). He is a former member of the Board of Trustees and former executive team member for the Association of Unity Churches.
Reverend Gregory Guice of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Reverend Guice is minister of Unity Christ Church in Ft. Wayne. He is a 2000 graduate of the ministerial program of Unity Institute at Unity Village (formerly Unity School of Religious Studies).
Connie Marmet of Los Angeles, California. Marmet is an organizational development consultant and most recently has been a trust executive with the Bank of America of California.
Griselda Hale of Plantation, Florida. She serves as a child advocate for neglected, abused, and dependent children, and is court liaison for the Guardian AD Litem Program. She also serves as a member of the board of regents for Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
The five new Board members fill two vacant positions and replace Reverend Richard Rogers, Dr. Barbara King, and Leslie DeBauge, whose terms are expiring. In addition to Connie Bazzy, the other current Board members are Charles R. Fillmore, chairman emeritus; Tom Zender, Unity's president and chief executive officer, who is an ex officio member, both of Unity Village; Jean Styles of Kissimmee, Florida; and Walter Starcke of Boerne, Texas.
Unity was founded in 1889. It is located at Unity Village, a 1,400 acre incorporated municipality 15 miles southeast of Kansas City. There are about 500 employees.
Unity helps people of all faiths apply positive spiritual principles in their daily lives. Its programs and ministries are supported primarily by donations and gifts. Unity is best known for its Silent Unity prayer ministry and as the publisher of Daily Word , a monthly magazine of daily inspirational messages that is circulated in more than 140 countries and printed in seven languages. Unity is on the Internet at www.unityonline.org.
