Nancy Jane Abbitt was born on October 20th in a year before the Vietnam War, in Appomattox, Virginia, into a family with a father who was a judge, a mother who was the epitome of a genteel southern lady, and two older (twin) sisters. Their live-in housekeeper, Pearl, was the self-appointed household manager and made sure they all lived by her rules.

Woody Torrence came along and swept Nan off her feet. They got married in 1969 during the weekend that Hurricane Camille was wiping out most of Nelson County.

While Woody was going to seminary in Dallas, Nan finished her BA in Sociology at the University of North Texas. After they moved back to Virginia, she got an MBA at Lynchburg College.

Nan wears a lot of hats at Blue Ridge. As the Programming Director, she oversees the programming (music, drama, technical production, etc.) of all of the Sunday and Wednesday services. She loves working with all the talented artists, seeing the plan come together, and helping to create transformational moments for people attending the services. As Communications Director, she has overall responsibility for all types of publications, brochures, signs, website, yellow pages, media inquiries, etc. These jobs give her plenty of opportunities to use her spiritual gifts of administration, helps, giving, and leadership.

Nan is one of those people who can do just about anything. Her past jobs have been as varied as Associate Professor at Liberty University; President of Naked Creek Lumber Co.; Market Master for Lynchburg Community Market; and Planning Analyst, Marketing Specialist, and Productivity Coordinator at Babcock & Wilcox Co. She is also a consultant for marketing and strategic planning; has reviewed, critiqued and written test questions for marketing textbooks; and once worked as a legal assistant.

Some of her favorite things are: seeing someone come to Christ; Tex-Mex, Italian, French, Japanese, American (okay, most) foods; books written by Tom Clancy or John Grisham; sitting on her back deck having lunch; ocean sailing; climbing mountains with Woody; scuba diving; and sitting by a fire or in a hot tub.

Nan has a very impressive resumé, is really good at a lot of different things, and has a wide array of interests, but most important of all, she's simply one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

ntorrence@blue-ridge.org
434.525.7481 ext 112