A. Clay Smith
President/CEO
clay@hintoncenter.org

Clay Smith, an elder of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, has served in ministry in the church for over thirty years.  Clay has a Masters of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt Seminary.  He served local congregations for nine years and has been the Executive Director of Hinton Rural Life Center since 1984.

Mollie Stewart
Coordinator of Local Church Ministries
mollie@hintoncenter.org

Mollie M. Stewart is a dynamic layperson and highly regarded as a workshop leader and motivational speaker.  She is president of Stewart & Associates, Inc. and a meeting planner with the United Methodist Church.

She is a native of Talucah, Alabama where she is very active in her local church, (Mt. Mariah UMC) her Community, District, (Huntsville) Annual Conference, (North Alabama) as well as, The General Conference of The United Methodist church. She is very proud to have been the speaker to introduce Hillary Rodman Clinton at the 1996 General Conference.

Mollie also serves as Executive Director of Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, MS, as well as having served for many years as the President of the Gulfside’s Board of Trustees. 

Becky Feathers
Finance Manager
becky@hintoncenter.org

Becky Feathers holds a BSBA degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Western Carolina University. She has served as Finance Manager at Hinton Center for 13 years. She is a native of the area and loves the mountain region. She and her husband, David have twins that are 10 years old. She loves the outdoors and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

David Feathers
Group Coordinator
david@hintoncenter.org

David is the Group Coordinator for Hinton Center's Self-Help Housing Program. In this position he recruits families for the program, as well as helping them to understand their credit, working through any credit issues they may have, and completing their loan packages. He is a North Carolina Certified Housing Counselor as well as being a Certified FDIC Financial Counselor. David is also an ordained minister, pastoring two local United Methodist Church congregations.

Jennifer Bennett
Retreat Manager
jennifer@hintoncenter.org

Jennifer began working at Hinton in May 1992. As the retreat manager she facilitates all retreats held at Hinton Center and manages our fair trade gift shop. Jennifer is also involved in the local communities with Communities in Schools, Hayesville Hands of Hope, Domestic Violence Board of Directors and  is a volunteer at Hayesville Elementary School. She and her husband, Jerry live in Hayesville with their children Trevor and Lila.

Stephanie Bennett
Food Services Manager
stephanie@hintoncenter.org

Stephanie resides in Hayesville with her son, William, who is 4 years old. She has been at Hinton Center for 11 years. She is quite proud of a 99.5% Sanitation Score, and she enjoys offering unique hospitality to our guests.  Harvesting fresh vegetables from the Hinton Center garden keeps her busy in the summer.

Trudy Bessent
Lodge Manager
trudy@hintoncenter.org

Trudy Bessent is a local basket-weaver who has been at Hinton for 10 years.  She is originally from Arkansas and has three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  When she is not weaving and managing the lodge she enjoys quilting, dancing, and crafts of all kinds. 

Charles Penland
Affordable Housing Coordinator
charles@hintoncenter.org

In 2003, after working 32 years in State government, Charles Penland was called to lead an effort to expand Hinton Center's Affordable Housing program. That program is now building 8 to 10 new homes per year in two subdivisions in Clay and Graham counties.

He lives in Hayesville with his wife, Penny. He has 4 children and 5 grandchildren that keep him busy in his spare time.

He is Chairman of the Clay County Board of Education, Chairman of the Southwestern Child Development Commission and Chairman of the Oak Forest United Methodist Church Administrative Council.

Bill Curns
Facilities Manager
bill@hintoncenter.org

Bill has been with Hinton Center for five years and holds licenses as a Master Electrician and Master Mechanical HVAC. He is also a degreed Electrical Engineer with nearly 40 years experience in the electrical field. Bill is a part-time professor at Tri-County Community College, an active member of Oak Forest UMC,  a veteran, and a member of the local VFW. He lives in Hayesville and is the proud father of two college-age daughters.

Darren Cook
Construction Supervisor
darren@hintoncenter.org

Penny Hane
Affordable Housing Bookkeeper
penny@hintoncenter.org

Penny has lived in the beautiful town of Hayesville, NC for over 6 years.  She lives with her husband Paul, her Labrador Retriever Sunny, and 3 chickens, Esther, Belle, and Velma.  She loves coming to work at Hinton Center, where she is bookkeeper/secretary for the Mutual Self-Help Housing program.

Clarissa Youngblood Fuentes
Rural Life Chaplain
clarissa@hintoncenter.org

Clarissa Youngblood Fuentes is a clergy member of the Western North Carolina Conference and a Chaplain by vocation.  She was born and raised in Hayesville, NC, educated at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke Divinity School and has been fortunate to return to the mountains of her childhood.  She and her husband of seven years, Andres, have an infant son, Adrian.  They enjoy traveling and gardening together.

Beth Leinbach
Administrative Assistant
beth@hintoncenter.org

Beth Leinbach has recently joined the Hinton Center staff as administrative assistant. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, she is married with two children.  In her spare time she enjoys hiking and gardening.

Pat and Bill Lincoln

Vermonters Pat and Bill Lincoln joined us in January of 2007 as full time volunteers, planning to stay for three months. They are still here, working as volunteers, either full or part time depending on the season, and are now permanent residents of the area. Members of United Church of Christ Partners in Service, they provide Hinton with a variety of services. Pat brings us a background in teaching, real estate and resort housekeeping, Bill a background in education. As a couple, they have also owned and operated retail businesses. Their four married children are scattered from New England to Iowa and Florida.