Dieth resigns as president of Montreat Conference Center
The Layman Online, Posted Thursday, February 20, 2003
Emile H. Dieth, Jr., president since 1998 of the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, N.C., has resigned his post, officials have announced.
Lynn E. Shurley, Jr., chairman of the board of directors of Montreat, one of three national conference centers for the Presbyterian Church (USA), made the announcement in a press release Feb. 19. The resignation was effective February 18.
Shurley said Dieth’s resignation at a meeting of the executive committee of the board of directors February 18 was accepted with regret and an expression of gratitude for his years of service.
“Emile’s tenure at the Montreat Conference Center came at a critical time,” said Shurley, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Paducah, Ky. “His efforts over the past five years to set Montreat on solid ground and to secure its future are sincerely appreciated.”
In a message addressed to his staff and board colleagues, Dieth wrote in part, “I take pride in the many achievements and accomplishments which have been concluded during my administration.”
Among those achievements, according to the press release, are the major renovation and reconstruction of numerous facilities at the 106-year old institution, along with great strides in funds development.
The executive committee named the Rev. James L. Morgan, Jr., D.Min., as acting president until an interim president can be identified. The full board of directors of the Mountain Retreat Association will next convene March 13-14.
Dieth was a graduate of Tulane University, which he served as director of major gifts from 1994-1996 and as executive director of Alumni Affairs and Annual Giving from 1996-1998. He was called to serve as president of Montreat Conference Center in May 1998.
His background in development, sales and marketing have included work for the Presbyterian Church (USA) as vice president of development at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and as area counselor for the denomination’s Bicentennial Fund.
His three years in management at Chevron U.S.A., Inc., were preceded by 23 years at Gulf Oil Corporation where, until 1985, he served as manager/national accounts in the Houston office.
An ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Dieth has served both church and community in a number of appointed and elected capacities, including president of the National Council of Presbyterian Men and as a member and chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Va.
The Dieth family can claim a total of 13 ordained Presbyterian elders, including son Danny, who now is an ordained minister and serves as associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Morganton, N.C. Danny’s wife, Vickie Caro Dieth, serves as director of Christian Education at the Waldensian Presbyterian Church in Valdese, N.C.
In addition to his son, Dieth and his wife, Lori, have a daughter, Debbie Dieth Baron, of Houston and two grandchildren.