Mary Rice Hopkins, Family / Children's Music, Resources

Mary's Team Thank you for taking the time to get to know the many folks involved on stage and behind the scenes. The friends, musicians, school teachers, children’s pastors, and our traveling team have contributed so much to this ministry. Without them, our "to do"list would still be miles long! From left to right: Kenny Blackwell (mandolin and guitar), Darcie Maze (puppeteer), Mary, Sandy Howell (keyboard and vocals), Bob Sobo (electric and acoustic guitars), Suzanne Morisette (drums and vocals), Nils Johnson (bass and vocals).

	Denny Bouchard I cannot put into words the impact Denny has had on this ministry. For the last twenty-five years, Denny has taken simple songs written in my kitchen or bathroom and transformed them into individual masterpieces. Simply said, Denny makes my music smile. There’s no question Denny has gone to great lengths to provide the utmost quality, using L.A.’s finest musicians & engineers. He has great gifting in making each song sound entirely different from the rest. He is our other token “French Canadian,” born & raised in Maine, and has resided in Southern California for the last 30 years with his wife, Annie, two kids, and a slew of grandkids. Denny also has an amazing history of recording and touring with Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary) along with Grammy and Emmy nominations for musical/director and player. To read more about Denny and his musical expertise go to: http://themusicconnectionorchestra.com/

	Darcie Maze For over 30 years Darcie Maze has been designing and creating puppets; and, in a sense, we have had parallel ministries. She is known throughout the world for her "puppets with a heart" which have been featured on Cartoon Network. Separately, Darcie and I have had our own ministries; however, the best is yet to come when families experience Darcie and I together. As of April 2005, Darcie and I have been doing the "Mary Rice Hopkins' concerts" featuring Green-go, the wonderful fun-loving puppet who teaches kids and families to go to the tough places and "go into all the world to preach the gospel." I have seen people laugh, cry and children for the first time understand and receive the gospel because of her amazing gifts to communicate. Darcie Maze has added a whole new dimension to my speaking and concert ministry, and I can't wait to see what doors God will open next! Darcie has been married for 23 years to Eugene Maze (as I have been married to Gary for the same 23 years) and she has a 20 year old son, Joshua, (and hey, I have a 20 year old daughter! Another divine coincidence). They reside in Victorville, California. If you want to see Darcie's web site (also designed by my wonderful web gal Kathy Hernandez) go to www.puppetswithaheart.com.

	Linda Stevenson - Scheduling Coordinator and Office Manager Linda is my "Eastcoast friend" and the "hands and feet" to so much of MRH and company. I met Linda through the Internet and her wonderful poetry. However, we have had the opportunity to work on so many projects and see God's hand at work through her ideas and excitement for my music. In 2006 she was able to come to California for the first time as we discussed plans to open up an east coast office. Linda now is involved in all the scheduling and coordinating all of the events plus taking your orders when you call. She has been an important part of the new curriculum we are developing and working with other Christian school teachers across the country. Linda is not only a good friend, she has an amazing heart for ministry. I look forward to seeing how things develop with her talents as we hope to develop a line of poetry and books. The most recent project Linda and Mary collaborated on was Mary's new Christmas album in 2006. Many of the new Moses / Exodus songs will to be released in 2007 are Linda' lyrics and Mary's music. We are so blessed that God has brought our lives together and can't wait to see what He continues to do. Linda's favorite line is "the best is yet to come!" Linda resides in Roanoke, Virginia. You can e-mail Linda at: LJStevenson1@juno.com You may also see her poetry website at http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeri2mm/poetofhope/

	Jenean Solock It's hard to find someone who knows about music, sound systems, and power point, who also is a teacher to high schoolers, a beautician, and has a servant's heart. That would best describe my friend Jenean. God just put her in my path when I was at Vacaville Christian School singing for a Grandparents' Day event. I wasn't really looking for someone and neither was she. Her "day job" or "real job" is being a high school choir director and teacher of other subjects, and it is obvious that the youth at VCC love Jenean and she loves them. Not many teachers would choose to go to all their football games as well as take extra time with them to lead worship. In her "spare time" she travels with Darcie Maze and me making our job so much easier. She is a behind-the-scenes person; however, our ministry functions so much better when Jenean is along. If you want to book us, she also handles much of the booking and details for MRH and Company. Thanks, Jenean, for all you do!

	Suzanne Morissette There’s nothing better than having a “chic” drummer. Suzanne is our cheery, short, redheaded, French Canadian drummer, percussionist, and background singer. Her credits are vast; and if you live in Southern California, you may have seen her perform with the Jennifer York (Channel 5’s Skycam 5 anchorwoman) Quartet. At the next concert, see if you can catch Suzanne singing the “Flintstones” theme song in French. Professionally speaking, Suzanne has endorsements with Sabian Cymbals, LP, Pearl Drums, Vic Firth, and Evans drumheads.

	Nils Johnson I always introduce Nils as the guy with the biggest heart around. But not only is Nils a joy to be around because of the warmth he brings to the stage, he’s also an awesome bass player. Nils is one to always go above and beyond the gig. His credits include playing with Ray Charles, has recently traveled to Africa with a music ministry team, and currently attends and plays on the worship team at Church on the Way, Van Nuys, CA.

	Howie Anderson We have to keep Howie around just for his funky glasses and shirts. He brings to the stage awesome electric guitar, a great voice, a big smile, and a guitar solo on “Jammin’ To Bed” that doesn’t quit. He has graced Mary’s albums with acoustic, classical, and electric guitar and has contributed to the albums vocally as well. Howie, his wife, son, and daughter live in Canoga Park, CA.

	Kenny Blackwell Kenny is my hero of all heroes when it comes to bluegrass music. Any country pickin’ you hear on my albums is certainly he. Kenny has been contributing his mandolin and acoustic guitar pickin’ and grinnin’ talents on my albums and on stage for over a decade. He has just released his first solo project, is part of the popular Bluegrass group, “The Laurel Canyon Ramblers,” has played on Christian Country group, Brush Arbor’s albums, and is very busy being a session player in Los Angeles. He’s a great singer, father of two girls, and lives in Huntington Beach, CA.

	Kathy Christie Hernandez - Web Gal No one's sure how Kathy manages to run a website design business with her busy volunteer schedule. Although in the last few years she's managed to serve as a PTA president and the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation president, somehow she's found the time to design websites for an eclectic mix of clients and organizations. She's been running our website for several years now, and just recently re-designed Darcie's website. She also recently committed to managing the Outreach section of the La Canada Presbyterian Church website. Kathy's a geek at heart, and can usually be found at her computer when she's not driving her two kids to sports practices or music lessons.

	Dr. Lawrence Michel, D.D.S. So why is an orthodontist involved in our ministry? Simply said, this guy's got one of the greatest hearts around. Larry has been a great servant in his community, Escondido, CA. He serves on the boards of the local Boys & Girls Club and is active with Alternatives Pregnancy Care Clinic. For you San Diego County residents who need quality orthodontic care, Dr. Michel is the guy with a kid friendly office complete with Nintendo games, an arcade, and free MRH music to boot! You can check out his website at www.hvortho.com. Recently, Dr. Michel presented Mary with an award for her musical contributions to Alternatives Pregnancy Care Clinic of Escondido, CA.

Arlene Siebert, Judy Ingersol, Jenean Solock, Brenda Carpenter, Jasmine Carpenter, Dianne Seeley, Laila Bottomly (Darcie Maze-- not pictured here).	Creative Support and Curriculum Development Once a year we have a retreat to develop new materials for MRH and company. These are best of the best Christian Educators, in my opinion, who are dedicated to this ministry. They all have full time jobs whether it is being a kindergarten teacher or a children's pastor. Still, they take time to develop resources to go along with the music and lessons to continue with our goals and purpose of "planting seeds that last a lifetime" for His little ones. This year Darcie Maze gave them each one of her special puppets called "Goodie Bear."

	Brenda Carpenter - Richland, WA Brenda is not only a favorite Kindergarten Teacher at Liberty Christian School in Richland, WA but she is also a significant contributor to our curriculum library. She's a terrific writer/editor and lends her talents and passion for God's Word to our ministry thus touching so many little ones beyond her own classroom. She is my dear friend who lives much too far away.