| Lutheran Hour Ministries Names New Director of Ministry Advancement
St. Louis, MO, Oct. 1, 2009 — Harold Melser of Columbia, Illinois, has been named Director of the Ministry Advancement division at Lutheran Hour Ministries. He will oversee all aspects of ministry fundraising operations, including strategic planning, gift and estate planning, corporate communications, annual support, data entry, and telecare.
 "Harold brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this position and I'm excited to have him as a part of the leadership team here at Lutheran Hour Ministries," says LHM Executive Director Bruce Wurdeman.
Melser is currently the associate vice president of development at the Saint Louis Science Center. In this position he developed a gift planning program with the expanded Gift Planning Committee of the Board, developed a comprehensive planned giving communications plan, coordinated and published the first-ever Saint Louis Science Center Annual Report on Philanthropy, introduced the Board Alumni Club as a way to strengthen relationships and financial support from former members of the Board of Commissioners and Board of Trustees, and created an endowment program, YES Plan, in support of the successful Youth Exploring Science program.
Prior to joining the Saint Louis Science Center, Melser served as the executive director of university development as well as the director of planned giving for the Southern Illinois University—Edwardsville (SIUE) Foundation. He has also served as director of development for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod World Mission, executive director of the Deaconess Health System Foundation, associate stewardship counselor for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, associate professor of speech at Concordia University—Nebraska, and a teacher at Lutheran High School West in Rocky River, Ohio.
He holds a bachelor's degree in education from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and a master's degree in speech communication from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He was recognized by the St. Louis Association of Fund Raising Executives as the Outstanding Fundraising Professional of 1986 and was recognized in 2006 by the Saint Louis Planned Giving Council with the Founders Award, a lifetime achievement award for leadership and promotion of planned giving.
An active community leader, Melser served on the Lutheran Foundation of Saint Louis Board as well as the national boards for the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (formerly NCPG) and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). As chair for the Awards Committee of the Saint Louis Planned Giving Council Board, he created the Legacy Awards in 2008. He is currently serving as a member of the Senior Level Task Force of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE) and is a member of several professional organizations serving in leadership positions of these organizations through the years.
In support of his profession, Melser has been a speaker and taught extensively, including serving on the faculty of The Fund Raising School, Indiana Center on Philanthropy and as a teacher for the Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program at the University of Missouri— Saint Louis.
He is a member of Peace Lutheran Church in Saint Louis, Missouri. His wife, Amy, works in information technology and attends Saint Louis University. Melser has two grown children living in Colorado and Texas.
Lutheran Hour Ministries is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church. LHM produces Christian radio and TV programming for broadcast, as well as Internet and print communications, dramas, music, and outreach materials, to reach the unchurched in more than 30 countries. LHM's flagship program, The Lutheran Hour, is the world's longest-running Christian outreach radio program. It airs weekly on more than 900 stations.
For more information, please contact:
Chad Fix
(800) 944-3450, ext. 4193 |
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