Join Our Team

John Walker | Executive Director

John Walker is the Executive Director of Expanding The Table, as well as the Committee Chair of the Executive Committee. His 20 years of experience in a procurement career serving the citizens of the State of South Carolina has provided him with an understanding of contract law, product acquisition, and logistics management.

John has been involved with Expanding The Table from the beginning when it was a mission of Ashley Ridge Church. Over the last 2 years, John has purchased the food, helped with meal preparation, driving the truck, serving meals, and hosted our weekly guests.

John has developed relationships with many of the guests and the volunteers who have passed through this mission. His heart and passion for this mission is visible in his involvement and dedication to caring for those in need within our community.

Mark Lavigne | President

Mark Lavigne is the President of the Board of Directors for Expanding The Table, as well as the Committee Chair for the Long Range Planning Committee. He has been a critical part of Expanding The Table over the past year. He is involved with the cooking team, and sandwich-making team, serving on the truck, and he is an active member of the Board of Directors.

Mark has been a long-time member of the Summerville community and is very active within his neighborhood Homeowners Association. He is a retired Air Force Officer with over 20 years of service. He also taught general math, algebra, geometry, and science at Givhan’s Achievement Academy for 17 years.

Mark’s connection to the community and his connection to the parents and youth he assisted at the Givhan’s Achievement Academy provide deeper insight to the population Expanding the Table services. He treats everyone with respect and is here to help and assist them.

Sue Smith | Vice President

Sue is a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Engineering. While in school, she supported herself by working as a chef and head cook in a fine foods restaurant, later building her career as a project and construction manager for Crown Castle, a telecommunications company. After many years of hard work, she retired and moved to Summerville to be closer to her oldest sibling and escape the Pennsylvania winters.

It was through Ashley Ridge Church that Sue learned about Expanding the Table and felt led by the Holy Spirit to get involved. Drawing on her restaurant experience, she now volunteers her time preparing and serving meals, especially at Doty Park on Friday evenings. Sue’s hope is that each meal not only fills stomachs but also nourishes souls, and she looks forward to helping Expanding the Table continue to grow and serve the community.

Kim Tabor | Treasurer

Kim moved to Summerville, SC in August 2022 from Detroit Metro Area after living there her whole life. She retired after working 25+ years in the automotive industry. Kim has an MSF degree and is a Certified Six Sigma Blackbelt. In her free time she has a small cottage baking business, Cakes and Other Sweet Things, which makes custom cookies and cakes. Kim served on the board of Steppin’ Out/ AIDS Walk Detroit for 14 years. The 501c3 organization provided funding to agencies that provided direct care assistance to people living with HIV/ AIDS. Kim also served in the capacity of Volunteer Coordinator (over 400 volunteers), Vice President and President.

Karstan Mc Elfresh | Secretary

Karsten McElfresh serves as Secretary for Expanding The Table and Committee Chair for the Volunteer Committee with Expanding The Table. He and his family have spent many hours working on this mission.  He has driven the truck, served, and has been the team lead on many occasions. 

Karsten owns Natural Tendencies Landscape Professionals and Terra Bella Garden Center located in North Charleston.  Karsten’s experience with small business has enabled him to develop meaningful and lasting relationships with the many customers, vendors, and other local businesses in the Greater Charleston area.  His business experience has been a valued asset to Expanding The Table.

Karsten McElfresh has lived in the Lowcountry since 2005.  Karsten met his wife, Christie at the University of Kentucky.  They reside in North Charleston with their three children: Kate, Caleb, and Karlie. Karsten enjoys traveling with his family, eating out, coaching youth sports and attending Ashley Ridge Church with his family.

Peter Hazel | Member At Large

Peter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and spent most of his first 23 years growing up in New Jersey. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in Structural Engineering and later met his wife, Kelly, while on a job assignment in New York.

In 1993, they welcomed their first child, Sydney, followed by Mason and Jack. In 1996, the family moved to Summerville, South Carolina, where they have happily made their home. A proud dog lover, he and his family share their home with four dogs.

Outside of work, he enjoys running, playing golf, spending time with his dogs, reading, and watching classic movies. He currently works for Jacobs Engineering, based in Greenville, and remains a loyal Philadelphia sports fan at heart.

Rich Hummer | Member At Large

Rich Hummer has been married to his wife, Susan, for 31 years and is the proud father of two boys. Originally from New York, Rich has called Summerville home since 2007. He works for a road and sitework company and is also part owner of the bridge division at the sister company, Lowcountry Structures.

From 2009 to 2018, Rich coached recreational baseball at Parks Field and has been actively involved in building community through various men’s groups, including founding Stand Up Brotherhood. His heart for serving others comes from his own upbringing—being raised by a single mother without support inspired his lifelong passion for helping those in need.

Board Member Responsibilities

This is the list of responsibilities that each board member must take to stay an active board member.

• Donate a minimum of $250.00 quarterly or secure a $1,000 annual donation for Expanding the Table during his/her term on the Board. All donations are to be posted prior to the end of each fiscal year.
• Attend Board meetings. Board Members are only allowed to miss 3 meetings annually. After 3 meetings are missed, a Board Member may be asked to resign from the Board.
• All Board members must participate in the Expanding the Table mission with a minimum of 3 servings per quarter. Serving could include serving on the ETT food truck, cooking teams, or special events.
• Be actively involved in all Fundraising events for Expanding the Table by selling tickets and/or volunteering for each event.
• Support the Board meeting agenda by providing at least one speaker to our Board meetings during his/her tenure on the Board.
• Share ETT’s Mission and inform others about our events and how we serve the community. Sharing Facebook posts or Instagram posts are way to share the message of our mission.
• Research a potential funder for ETT, and present at a Board meeting.
• Keep ETT brochures and business cards readily available.

Committees

Executive Committee 

This committee and chairman are responsible for keeping a healthy and strong board. Typically, the president of the board, or the future of the board. This committee will also help maintain everyone’s up-to-date status of the board, how long each term is, how many members at large are there, and things of that nature.

Marketing Committee

This committee and chairman are responsible for working with the President and Vice President to address three primary areas:  Communication of our mission to other outside individuals, nonprofits, and companies, explaining who we are and who we serve.  Also, this committee will be responsible for always seeking new ways for us to better serve our guests and recruit volunteers. Lastly, present a face to the community defining our mission and always seeking support from others.

Long Range Planning Committee

This committee and chairman are responsible for planning how they can feed more meals per week, new Food Trucks, and future events to help spread the word. This committee will help with storing food as well.

Volunteer Committee 

This committee and chairman will be responsible for having a minimum of 4 volunteers per event. That way, there is a plan of how many people will be there to assist in meal prep and serve meals. The committee chairman or members monitor signup.com and recruit staffing for the serving and hosting of each serving.

Financial Committee

This committee and chairman oversee making sure that we have funds for meals for the month or any maintenance possibly needed for the truck.  This committee leads the development of the annual budget, analyzes the budgeted amount to the actual monthly spending, and reports to the board monthly.

 Fundraising Committee 

This committee and chairman oversee planning a yearly event (you can partner with a local organization) to help raise funds and spread the word about the mission. Expanding the Table will need at least 2 major fund-raising events annually and seeks support monthly for the Mason’s business meeting meal preparation and serving.