Staff
Our staff at Horizons includes only a handful of paid workers. A lot of what we accomplish is a direct result of our volunteers: over 300 volunteers each month, coming from 30 different churches here in Quincy. We THANK YOU for your participation if you have ever volunteered with us. You are appreciated.
Like our volunteers, our paid staff members come from different backgrounds and different churches here in Quincy. Please allow us a moment to introduce our staff to you.
Sarah Stephens
Executive Director
Sarah Stephens joined the staff of Horizons in 2010 as the Director of Operations. She moved into the role of Executive Director in 2011. Sarah comes to Horizons with years of banking experience, serving as Vice President and Manager for National City Bank. She attended John Wood Community College and Quincy University.
She and her family reside in Quincy.
sarah@horizonsquincy.com
Mark Geissler
Community Outreach Specialist
Mark Geissler is a 2006 graduate of Carthage High School. After graduating, Mark spent time as a Welder at Manchester Tank for 2 years, until being called up for deployment to Afghanistan from October 2008 to July of 2009. Upon returning from deployment, Mark worked at Little Jess Jeep for 8 months, until he felt the Lord’s calling to go into ministry, serving full time as a Kitchen worker, and general ministry aide. In August of 2010, Mark took over as Manager of the Horizons Soup Kitchen, and Horizons Food Pantry from Peggy Grant, who was one of the original founders of the Horizons Soup Kitchen. Mark is thankful for what God has done in him, and through him, and very blessed to be a part of this growing ministry and service. He is looking forward to what God is going to be doing here, and in him, in the future.
mark@horizonsquincy.com
Debbie Fitzgerald
Director of Community Transformation
Debbie has a passion for serving the community. She loves to see the lives of its people transformed by encountering Jesus. She is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our partner churches and organizations who share a common vision of helping each person strive toward the life God intended. It is our hope that one day everyone we meet at Horizons will begin to uncover the gifts God has uniquely given them for serving others–and put them to use for the Kingdom!
debbie@horizonsquincy.com
Eric Thorsen
Director of Food Services
Eric is our fantastic Director of Food Services! He has a beautiful wife, Morgan, and four daughters, Hattie, Clara, Lydia and Elora (twins). In 2005, he attended culinary school at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. He also went through the Addicts Victorious program in September of 2011, which is when he gave his life to Christ. Since then, he has been in the active ministry of counseling & mentoring people who struggle with addiction. Eric helps facilitate the Living Free program which helps lead people from addiction to Christ. His heart for ministry continues to grow, and he is currently taking classes to be a certified minister through the Assemblies of God.
Eric brings nearly 20 years of culinary experience to our Horizons kitchen and a sincere heart for the Lord! He is knowledgeable about all things food, but more importantly, Eric loves Jesus! Eric’s heart for God’s people is beautiful and transformative. We are proud and thankful to have him on our Horizons’ team!
eric@horizonsquincy.com
Jessica Cornwell
Pantry Manager
Jessica is our wonderful pantry manager! She joined us in 2020, and is an indispensable part of our team. She is intentional, compassionate & does a mean Arnold Schwarzenegger accent.
Jess is a rock star mom and wife. She enjoys eating pasta salad with her kiddos, adopting cats & singing along to Hamilton.
She brings a sincere heart & many talents to Horizons. We are truly blessed to have her on our team!
jessica@horizonsquincy.com
Deanna Twaddle
Office Assistant/Food Pantry Assistant
Deanna loves Jesus. She loves hearing and seeing how God uses each individual’s story to tell His story of love, grace, and redemption. After homeschooling her children and working as an occupational therapist for several years, she began to feel the Lord stir in her a desire to pursue something different. In a casual conversation with a friend, Deanna learned of a potential opportunity at Horizons. After a couple of meetings with Horizons staff and much prayer, Deanna joined the Horizons family trusting fully the Lord led her to Horizons “for such a time as this”. She is excited to serve as an assistant in the office and food pantry. She has been blessed to be surrounded by those dedicated to God’s word, prayer, and obedience to the Lord.
Deanna has been married to her wonderful husband for 20 years, and they have four incredible children! She enjoys spending time with her family, playing board games, reading a good book, and watching her children in their various activities.
Tisha Reeves
Kitchen Manager
Tish joined Horizons as a volunteer in 2016 and was hired as a Kitchen Manager in 2017. Her employment experience covers the full spectrum of work that is called for at Horizons. She has worked in food and customer service, as a home manager with Upward Bound, as a stay-at-home mother with an in-home daycare, and as a teacher’s aide with Hannibal Public Schools.
She received her G.E.D. in 1987 and has attended Hannibal-LaGrange College.
Tish has experienced many significant changes, but she credits Horizons and our volunteers as some of the entities that saved her life.
She resides in Quincy.
Linda Boston
Give Away Table Manager
Linda is a bright light on our team! She sorts through our donations and puts together wonderful sacks of food for our neighbors who are in need. She brings an enthusiastic heart to her work & joy to our staff. We are so glad she is part of our Horizons family!
Raymond Steadman
Director of Recovery
Raymond has a heart to show & share the love of Jesus to each and every person. He has been an ordained minister since 2016 and has served as a Deacon at Quincy Faith Assembly of God since 2017. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Adult & Teen Challenge of the Four States, Primrose Hill Adult, and Teen Challenge since 2018.
Raymond is active in The Hope Center, a community outreach center that works to meet needs in the community. He leads a group called “Living Free” in order to see lives transformed out of addiction and into the freedom of a life with Christ.
In his free time, Raymond loves spending time with his family. He married his wife, Ashley, in 2013, and they have four children together.
Raymond loves working at Horizons because it is a place where the love of Jesus is always being shown & lives constantly being touched. He is glad to be part of how God is using Horizons to meet the needs in the community and see the gospel going forth as Jesus desires!
Shane Belknap
Chef
I’ve been a chef pretty much my whole life. I have a degree in Culinary Arts and over 20 years of experience. Cooking is my passion, and I love to create beautiful and tasty food. I was a troubled addict with a problem of alcohol and opioids. I was at my lowest point and on the verge of committing suicide. I was broken, alone, and lost. I did the only thing I had left for me to do, that was turn to God. It wasn’t easy but by the grace of God, I survived. Through him I was reborn and no longer held to that evil. He filled me with the Holy Spirit. With God and the support I have around me, I am no longer that person and I’m thriving. I’m also blessed with two amazing beautiful children; Layla age 10 and Leopold, age 6. They are great kids and enjoy life.
My passion for Horizons stems from the love of Jesus and the gifts he has given me in cooking. I love being able to not only feed people but to feed them a delicious meal that they will remember. I am grateful for everything Horizons does.
I love serving at Horizons because of the amazing staff and guests. It is very rewarding to be able to make a difference in this world and to bring a little more joy and peace into these tough times.