Worship with us at 10am every Sunday.

St. John’s Vestry

Darcey Hale
Clerk to the Vestry

With a B.A. in American Cultural History from Vassar College and a Med in Educational Administration from Villanova University she went on to found a Montessori school, teach in Montreal, serve as a teacher and administrator in suburban Philadelphia and then, to cap it all off, plunged into heading turn arounds of three New England independent schools all of which were in trouble! Thankfully they survived. More recently, she chaired the Willsboro Heritage Society and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum boards. At 85 she wrote the first of four narrative histories about 19th century life in the Champlain Valley. She is passionate about St. John’s and done about everything there over the last 25 years. Life is great and well worth living every day!

Antonia Bullard
Treasurer

Antonia was born in Vienna, Austria, where her father was a British diplomat. On her mother’s side, most of the men were Anglican priests and missionaries. After earning a BA in Philosophy and Economics at Oxford, she came to the US to study at MIT. Her business career has taken her to many different places and industries, from Oklahoma to Moscow, and from steel to renewable energy. Today, she is a Managing Director at Trewstar, which places outstanding executives on corporate boards and also a part-time Climate and Energy Strategy Advisor with S&P Global. She and her husband, Thurston Clarke, have lived in Willsboro since 1986. They have three adult daughters and five grandchildren. Their daughters attended Willsboro Central School and St John’s Church, but now live in New York City and Cambridge, MA. 

Scottie Ginn
Senior Warden

Scottie was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Virginia, as a lifelong Episcopalian. She went to St Catherine’s, an Episcopal school, for 12 years in Richmond. She studied engineering at the University of Virginia and then MIT, got her MBA at the University of Vermont, and then worked as an engineering executive at IBM for 30 years. Some of her most fun jobs were working with clients like Apple, Nintendo and Sony. She retired in 2011 and moved to Essex full time. She has been actively engaged in Episcopal churches in VA, MA and VT. St John’s is her favorite Episcopal church ever and she is delighted to be back. She is recently widowed, but she shares her life with her 18-pound Havanese dog Ollie.

Bill Tribou
Junior Warden

Connecticut native Bill Tribou holds degrees from Lafayette College (B.A. History), Trinity College (M.A. American Studies), and UConn School of Law (J.D. with honors). A retired attorney and vice president of Travelers Insurance, Bill and his wife Kristine reside in her hometown, Schroon Lake, where he has served as Town Judge, Schroon Lake Fire Department captain and as a volunteer driver for the emergency squad. Bill and Kristine are also Meals on Wheels volunteers. Currently, Bill is Chairman of the Schroon Lake Fire District and a Director of Schroon Lake EMS. Previously, he served as the Race Director for the Adirondack Marathon District Festival and as a Board member of the Seagle Festival.

Louise Baietto
Member

Louise was born and grew up in New York City where she earned an MBA in Accounting and Finance from St. John’s University. She recently retired from a 40+ year career in nonprofit finance and administration, the last 30 of which were working for the Episcopal Church. Her previous positions were with The Ford Foundation and one of its major grantees. Louise is also an honorary canon of the Cathedral of the Incarnation on Long Island where she and her husband reside when they’re not enjoying their vacation home in Willsboro.

Diana Lawrence
Member

Originally from Kansas, Diana moved to Westport in 1989. She has lived in TX, NY, IL, OK, West Berlin, Germany, and Iceland. Her primary occupations have been both Dental Office Manager and Insurance Premium Auditor. She is a board member and former president of the Champlain Valley Chorus and is currently serving as Secretary of the Essex Theater Company. She came to St. John’s in 2018 and has served as Choir Member, Zoom Operator, Book Club Coordinator, Auditor, Bookkeeper Trainer, Finance Committee Member, and Vestry Member.

Bruce Stephan
Member

Bruce Stephan holds degrees in Civil Engineering and law and has had over 40 years of experience managing large public transit and water projects. As an Executive Director of a minority owned project management consulting firm, Bruce founded offices in New York City; Newark, NJ; San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA; and Seattle, WA. He and wife Joan moved to Essex in November 2001, after escaping the World Trade Center on 9/11. There he has served on the St John’s Vestry and various committees, as Treasurer of the Masons and as president of the Champlain Valley Film Society, written the Essex Initiatives newsletter and organized Historic Halloween Hauntings. A former Catholic, he was baptized and renewed his wedding vows at St Johns.

Lawson Allen
Member

Lawson, of Needham, MA and Essex, is a graduate of Wells College and Boston University. She is a retired psychotherapist and school counselor currently volunteers as a gallery guide at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Over the years she has served on many non-profit boards including the Essex Theatre Company as well as the Adirondack Foundation where she and her late husband, Clint, established an endowed scholarship for graduating seniors at Willsboro CSD and Boquet Valley CSD. Recently she broadened it to include a Career Development Grant.

She likes to say that the Adirondacks are in her DNA. Her grandmother came to Essex in 1903 and was a fledgling member of the Crater Club and a parishioner at St John’s Church. The family tradition continues as she spends summers in Essex with her three daughters and six grandchildren.

Heather Maxey
Member

Heather is a graduate of St. Lawrence University where she majored in Theatre Arts and is a native of Duxbury, MA where she coached high school lacrosse and field hockey. She spent 20 years as VP and Director of Interactive Marketing at a high-tech firm in Boston. She is a full-time real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway.
She is a devout Christian who grew up as an Episcopalian, and immediately upon moving to Essex with her husband and three grown children, came to St. John’s where she has assumed an active role. Her dedication to the community extends beyond real estate and church. She actively supports the arts and is President of the Essex Theatre Company. Over the summer of 2024, she produced "Sounds Like Us," a heartwarming collection of stories and songs celebrating the heart of the Champlain Valley.

Anne Zilch
Member

Anne has lived in the states of Iowa, Washington, Louisiana and New York as well as in Dijon, France. She has also spent time in Spain and Mexico. She now lives full-time with her husband Bob in Willsboro. They were drawn to this part of the country by its beauty and opportunities to sail and hike. She holds an MA in French from Tulane University and an MA in Education from SUNY Albany. Anne retired from a 30-year career teaching French and Spanish in middle and high schools in New York State. She is a relatively new member of the vestry. She feels very fortunate and blessed to be a part of the wonderful St. John’s community.