Meet Our Staff
Rev. Sharon Bell is the pastor of Highlawn Presbyterian Church. Sharon has served churches in Teays Valley and Huntington and is excited about the future of Highlawn Presbyterian Church. She has degrees from Baylor University (Waco, TX) and Fuller Seminary (Pasadena, CA). A native Texan, Sharon has called West Virginia home since 2003. She enjoys traveling and binge watching her favorite TV shows. She has been known to be the loudest parent on the sidelines, cheering on her son. She has one son Grayson. Sharon is passionate about creating authentic worship and genuine community.
David Chenoweth, Music Director
David Chenoweth has served as Choir Director at Highlawn for over 30 years, starting in September 1987. Before coming to HPC, he was very active at Highlawn United Methodist Church where his father served as pastor from 1972 to 1981.
David is also a retired music teacher from Cabell County schools where he taught choral music and piano at Huntington High School in addition to serving as the music department chair.
David is a graduate of Marshall University where he obtained both a B.A. in Music Education and M.A. in Music. He is also very involved with music in the community where he sings with Renaissance and has directed the Musical Arts Guild on numerous occasions.
Sarah Specht, Director of Christian Education
Sarah grew up in Columbus Ohio, and moved to Huntington in 2004. She was a stay at home mom for 7 years and took care of my two sons. Her youngest started PreK in 2012 and that’s when she decided to go back to work. She has been the DCE at Highlawn since August of 2012 and has loved every minute of it.
Sarah loves learning about God, doing mission, and making friendships through fellowship. She tries to keep the youth at Highlawn involved in the same kinds of things. She believes we grow to know Jesus more by doing mission work, learning about the Bible and doing fun things to get to know each other better.
Nan Price, Secretary
Nan grew up in Charleston WV, then moved to Cincinnati Ohio to begin her family and has three children, two step-daughters and 7 grandchildren. While in Cinn. she attended a program at Mount St. Mary's Seminary - Atheneum of Ohio for Pastoral Counseling and Theology.
Nan spent many years in Ministry as a Youth & Children's Director at various denominations thru the years. Approximately 10 years ago, Nan moved to Texas with her children. She has worked for the Girl Scout Councils in OH, TX & KY, and spent several years working with Senior Citizens programs. In 2018, she moved back to WV to live and care for her elderly Father.
Alanna Cushing, Organist/Pianist
Alanna has graced Highlawn with her beautiful organ and piano skills since January 2014.
She holds a Bachelors degree from Marshall University and a Masters degree from Bowling Green State University, both in Piano Performance. She has been the recipient of several awards including the Belle and Lynum Jackson Soloist Competition and the Marshall University Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.
Alanna is private tutor and an active performer and has recently given recitals in Bowling Green, Ohio and Huntington, West Virginia. Alanna particularly enjoys playing new music. She attended the Contemporary Music Festival in Cortona, Italy during the summer of 2006, where she premiered a work by British composer, Graham Lynch. She has worked with composers such as Erik Lund, from the University of Illinois and Dr. Mark Zanter, from Marshall University.