Rev. John R. Virgin
Pastor J.R. is a 2007 graduate of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has served in full-time ministry in the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, until moving to South Carolina in June of 2022. In Western PA, Pastor J.R. served in a variety of settings and roles. He served rural congregations as both a Senior and Associate Pastor, as well as, serving a large church with a multiple site ministry. Pastor J.R. has also served many years on the Western PA Board of Ministry and as a District Committee on Ministry Chairperson.
Joining Pastor J.R at St. Paul’s Waccamaw are his wife of 15 years, Allison and their 3 elementary aged children; Elijah, Evelyn, and Madison, as well as their german shepherd, Myla. Pastor and his family live just south of Myrtle Beach in the Carolina Forest area. They are overjoyed to have the opportunity to serve at St. Paul’s Waccamaw UMC and look forward to all that God has in store for the future.
Alice Cochran
Alice is our Church Office Administrator. She moved here from Charlotte, NC to North Litchfield in 2014. She and her husband Chris just recently sold their Printing Company, in which they owned together for 30 years, so they could settle here. Alice is originally from Shelby, NC. She went to Kings College, Charlotte, NC and after finishing started working in the Clerk of Court’s office in Shelby for 5 years as an Assistant Clerk of Court before she moved to Charlotte and worked for Moore and Van Allen, as a legal secretary.
She has two grown boys, Jonathan and Matthew, and one new grandbaby, Sadie, which she thinks is adorable. Alice loves sports, especially football (go Carolina Panthers) and baseball.
She is thankful for the opportunity working here at St Paul’s Waccamaw UMC, and is looking forward to meeting everyone.
Olivia Powell Huggins
Olivia Powell Huggins is our Director of Music, as well as our organist and pianist.
She grew up in the edge of her church yard in Greenwood, SC. She has been a church pianist since age thirteen and was choir director/ organist at Georgetown Presbyterian from for ten years before joining the music staff at St. Paul’s Waccamaw as accompanist in 2003. In 1980 she received the Lander Academic Award in Music and has degrees from Lander University and the University of South Carolina.
For thirty nine years she taught choral and general music at all levels in Georgetown County School District. As director of the BEACH Singers, Georgetown County School’s auditioned chorus for middle and high school, she coordinated weekly rehearsals and a summer training program for twenty nine years. Under her direction, the program received national recognition for her sight singing/solfege curriculum and choral techniques and was selected to perform at the White House in Christmas 1998 . In addition to numerous state and regional performances, the singers were headliners in San Diego in 2001 sharing a session with James Earl Jones at the National School Board Association Conference.
As a member of professional organizations, she has performed with festival choirs here and in Europe, attended workshops with notable conductors and accompanists , and observed some of the world’s finest choirs. Her favorite vacations include organ study in NYC with David Enlow of Julliard, attending concerts featuring the Saint Olaf Christmas Festival, or participating in worship on musical pilgrimages throughout London, Rome, Florence, Salzburg, Vienna , Venice and Paris. In 2007, she received the Indigo Choral Society Distinguished Artist Award.
Chris Cochran
Chris is our Church Custodian. He moved here from Charlotte, NC to North Litchfield in 2014 with his wife Alice who is the Administrative Assistant. Chris was adopted from Burgaw, NC. He then spent time growing up in New Jersey, New York, Guatemala C.A., Miami FL and went to The University of Bridgeport where he played Football and earned a BS in Phys. Ed., and minors in Biology and Chemistry.
After graduation he went to work at Davidson College, in Davidson NC, as an assistant football coach. He then made the decision to change jobs and was hired by a Davidson Alumnus at Package Products, a large commercial printing company where he was responsible for scheduling the production workflow. After a couple of years, he was promoted to Plant Manager. And a few years after that Alice & Chris bought a printing company and worked at that for 30+ years. We sold the business a few years ago and moved to Pawleys Island.
Chris loves sports, especially football (go Carolina Panthers) and Yankees baseball. He really enjoyed coaching his two son’s youth baseball teams while they were growing up.