Meet our Staff
Randy Graham
Tim Coop
Gara Handorf
Sam Wheat
Sam joined the East Mountain family again in August 2019. After 40 years in full-time church ministry, he retired and moved to the East Mountain community with his wife, Patti, an East Mountain native. Sam’s hometown is Anniston, Alabama. He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University in Alabama where he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Math Education. After teaching high school math for 5 years, he surrendered to full-time ministry in 1979 and attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After receiving his M.R.E. degree from Southwestern, he was called to East Mountain Baptist Church to serve as Minister of Music, Youth, and Education in 1982. It was there he met and married his wife, Patti Ford, daughter of Royce and Louise Ford.
He served the last 13 years as Minister of Education at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ruston, Louisiana. Prior to that he served as Minister of Music and Education at Calvary Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana, Woolmarket Baptist Church, Biloxi, MS, and First Baptist Church of Hughes Springs, TX.
His wife, Patti, is a former physical therapist and currently leads the ladies exercise program. Sam and Patti have one son, Adam, who works as Director of Career and Calling at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Coming back to East Mountain, he is bringing his wife, Patti, home, as they have built on Patti’s family homeplace in East Mountain.