Vicki LaRoche – President
Vicki and her husband Stu have three grown children, two who are mildly intellectually disabled and live at home. She founded the Glowing Lights Special Needs Ministry at Sugarloaf United Methodist Church in 2005 and served as its leader for three years. While she has been a homemaker for a long time, her past work experience has included being a hospice nurse, hospital staff RN, exceptional education secretary, and homeschool teacher. She currently is the director of The Next Stop program. [vicki@thenextstop.org]
Stu LaRoche – Vice President
Stu retired from UPS after 34 years of service and is currently the owner of Ace Laser Engraving in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He and his wife Vicki founded The Next Stop Foundation, Inc. They have been married for 37 years and have three very special kids, Lindsey and Tyler who are members of The Next Stop and Austin, who now lives in California with his wife Rachael. [stu@acelaserengraving.com]
E. Scott Wood – Treasurer
Scott is the principal of Atlanta’s Milestone Marketing, Inc., a full-service marketing communications firm for high technology clients. An attorney, Scott is a member of the California Bar Association and was also a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for more than 20 years achieving the Accredited Public Relations (APR) designation. He and his wife Madeline recently celebrated their 42 wedding anniversary. They have four children. [milestone@bellsouth.net]
Chip Underwood – Secretary
Chip Underwood has a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Special Education. He has worked 34 years in public education , 27 with DeKalb School system in the Mild and Moderate Intellectual Disabilities Programs, and the last seven years in Gwinnett County Public Schools. He is currently a Learning Specialist at the Weber School in Sandy Springs. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Next Stop for three years. Chip’s wife Robin is an Occupational Therapist and Assistant Professor at Brenau University in the School of Occupational Therapy. Their son Matthew is attending Georgia State University working towards his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.[cunderwood@weberschool.org]
Ben Furqueron
Ben Furqueron is a 25 year business veteran of the technology markets where he managed sales organizations spanning North America for established and startup software companies. Prior to this he spent 8 years in marketing and sales within the industrial market. In addition to The Next Stop Board, Ben also serves as president for his residential community. Ben and his wife Katrina have been married 29 years and have two sons, Shane and Brandon. Shane is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Brandon is a graduate of Georgia College and State University. [benfurqueron@yahoo.com]
John Houchens
John Houchens grew up in the mountains of Southwestern Virginia. He graduated from Atlanta Christian College after deciding to pursue Christian Ministry as a vocation. He cut his teeth in ministry on the streets of Atlanta in the early 80’s and since then has served congregations in the inner-city and rural Appalachia. In 1998 John joined the staff of Walk Thru the Bible to serve as Director of Outreach North America, a program that partnered with organizations such as Prison Fellowship, Salvation Army, and Campus Crusade for Christ to reach prisons, inner-cities, and under resourced areas of North America with Christian resources and training. John later joined the staff of World Relief as Vice-president for Philanthropy. He returned to Walk Thru the Bible in 2008 and now serves as Senior Vice President for Advancement and International Ministries. His responsibilities include oversight of all Walk Thru the Bible fundraising efforts and facilitating Walk Thru the Bible’s reach into 104 countries with resources, tools and training. John and his wife Debbie have two sons, Taylor and Ryan. Taylor is a recent graduate of U.G.A. and his brother Ryan is a Junior. [jhouchens@walkthru.org]
Larry Larkins
Larry was born and raised in Indiana. In 1967 he married his high school sweetheart Joyce. They have three children and two grandchildren. Larry was with UPS for thirty-six years and retired in 2003. Most of Larry’s career with UPS was in Business Development, Logistics, and Loss Prevention. [lottolark@aol.com]
Dennis Pruett
Dennis is an executive with General Electric. He has worked in the energy industry for over 30 years. Dennis is a graduate of the University of Alabama and has a degree in mechanical engineering. He has been married to his wife, Regina for 27 years. Together they have two children and one grandchild. Dennis and Regina are members of Sugarloaf United Methodist church where they are active in various service roles. [dennis.pruett@ge.com]
Dr. Renee Ussery
Dr. Ussery is a clinical psychologist who works full-time at the Marcus Autism Center in the Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Clinic. She also has worked in private practice for 10 years. She enjoys volunteering with the Next Stop, as well as the Boston Terrier Rescue. [russery11@gmail.com]
Austin LaRoche – Founding Board Member Emeritus
After serving as the Executive Director of The Next Stop for the first year and a half of the organization’s existence, Austin has completed Masters work in New Media Studies at Depaul University, started an online marketing agency, and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Rachael.