B orn and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Dina moved to Cumberland when she and Jesse married 41 years ago. Two grown sons and four grandchildren make for a happy family. The oldest grandchild is a boy aged 5 years and two little guys 11 and 7 months. One granddaughter aged 2. “They live close by-which is a good thing because it’s such a joy being with them”. Dina volunteers personal time helping the local community in various capacities. These include participating in a Prison Ministry at the Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland. “I love volunteering with my church in Prison Ministry on Sunday evenings playing piano and singing. I also volunteer at my church playing in rotation with four others and I teach Sunday School in a class filled with 2-4 year olds”. Dina describes her work in the prison with great passion. “I have played piano since I was 13, and back in 1999, an inmate reached out for us to start a service and bible study. Due to red tape, government rules/regulations and training of volunteers, we weren’t allowed to go into the prison until June 2001”. She continues, “Life had changed in my personal life and I wasn’t quite in the car business yet, but due to a career change, I had more time so I volunteered to play piano and assist with singing. At first, I thought it would be a situation where we would have other volunteers come in and it wouldn’t be a full-time volunteering position. However, God did not have it that way. It did turn out to be a full-time ministry, which I absolutely fell in love with”. “Most of the volunteers from our church first thought we would go in and be a blessing to those who came to the service. In reality, it turned out that we were more blessed! God does work in mysterious ways. I have seen men come to Christ through this ministry and move-on to be a part of spreading God’s love and compassion on the outside. Many have come out and are doing quite well. Most of them do keep in touch with us when they get out and come to visit”. Her work at the prison goes even further. “With our Prison Ministry, we also have a Christmas Program where we supply a very nice meal for kids and their foster parents while their mom or dad is in prison. We have a meal and I work with kids in our church from the age of 2 – 17 and we perform a Christmas play for them. Sometimes those children want to be a part of the play and of course, I let them (we always have a few extra costumes just in case), we also purchase gifts for the kids and have it signed from their mom and dad. That is truly a blessing!” And as if she doesn’t have enough on her plate, she is also the President of the Cumberland Choral Society having served in this capacity for the last three years that she’s been a member. The Choral performs two concerts yearly in the Spring and Winter. On her future in automotive, she says “I hope to be involved for many more years as I love to teach “newbies” and give encouragement to those that have been in this business for a while to not give up. Every deal is like a new day!” Dina channels heartfelt passion in both her business and personal life. She does so with great conviction and dedication in improving the lives of everyone she meets. Join us in celebrating this fine professional and drop her a line of appreciation. 7
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