The Board of Directors
Rev. Paul Ernewein
Pastor Paul as he is known by most people, is the pastor of The Village Church Lutheran in Lacombe. His desire to help those in need is supported by his wife Peggy.
Both Paul and Peggy are from Louisiana and share a passion to serve a delicious plate of food to anyone! They both believe if you are going to cook something, it better taste delicious! That passion has spilled over to their work in serving those who suffer from food insecurity issues.
When he is not serving his church or feeding those in need, pastor can be found tinkering on his old cars or bicycles.
Cathy Newman
Cathy and her husband Chip enjoy volunteering in their community. Cathy has served in various leadership roles at various organizations, as well as President of Junior Auxiliary of Slidell, and Council President of The Village Church Lutheran in Lacombe.
Cathy has a BA from LSU in graphic design. After working 18 years as production manager, she retired to pursue other passions like being a full time Foster parent since the beginning of 2020.
Her hobbies include writing, painting and self publishing her novels and devotionals. She loves to be apart of an active group that allows her to fulfill her joy of helping others in the time of need.
Barbara Crozier
Barbara and her husband Kim are active members at The Village Church Lutheran in Lacombe.
Retired from contract work with Shell Oil Company, Barb and Kim enjoy vacationing around the world.
Both Barbara and Kim have a passion to serve those in need and have been active in feeding those in need for many years now. Part of the original Board of Directors, Barbara’s passion for this work is a huge driving force behind the work we have been able to do over the years.
Rev. Charles Truax
Rev. Truax and his wife Cindy are enjoying retirement currently. “Pastor Charlie” as he is known to his friends, has been a great supporter of Paul and Peggy in their pursuit of serving others with this feeding ministry.
Pastor Charlie and Cindy enjoy fulltime RV’ing. They travel the country in their 5th wheel rig enjoying the beautiful countryside and spending time with family and friends.
Pastor can often be found working on his stamp collection or writing and still finds time to volunteer and serve churches that are in need.
Woody Keim
Woody and his wife Kim are active members at St. Paul Lutheran in New Orleans, where they have attended for many years.
Woody graduated from LSU and works as an Estate Planning Attorney at Keim Law in the Baton Rouge area.
Woody has a passion for story telling, he studied Film and Media at University of New Orleans. Recently he produced a special called Battlegrounds: The Lost Community of Fazendeville.
Woody and his wife both have a passion for serving their communities and those in need. We are truly blessed to have him on our Board.
The Volunteer Team Leaders
Equipment Lead Nick Capace
Nick has a background in automotive and truck repair. He helps see that our equipment is in excellent condition. His vast experience in all types of mechanical backgrounds helps things run smoothly.
He also loves to lend his hand at cooking when given the opportunity. It is not unusual to see Nick with a paddle in his hand or a spatula.
Culinary Lead & Head Chef Louis Pellissier
Chef Lou as he is known in our circles can always be found a pot, pit or fryer. He has a famous saying “The fire just gets hot, we do the cooking”. That is just a small sampling of the love that Chef brings to the table!
As you can see, Louis brings his incredible cooking skills to our FBF team. Everything Louis does is sure to taste good!
Accounting and Financial Team Leader Brenda Newman
Brenda has been a resident of Slidell since 1991 with her husband of 49 years. She is retired from Schlumberger Technology Corp. in 2009, after 31 years in accounting.
Her work included, accounts payable, auditing accounts payable, balance sheets, P&L statements, and reporting budget forecast. Towards the end of her career, she was part of the testing and training team as Schlumberger rolled out it’s new ERP software in SAP. As new challenges arose, she implemented and documented new procedures as needed, resulting in many rewards.
Working with Forged By Fire allows her to use her passion of accounting and to give back to the community and serve the Lord. She loves spending time with her family, attending a weekly intercessory prayer gathering, making beaded jewelry, traveling, and spending time caring for my koi fish. We love you Brenda!
Forged By Fire 