Our Staff
Rev. Tom Potenza
Pastor for Discipleship
Tom grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from college, he taught high school for 4 years. Following a call to ministry he entered Garret Theological Seminary at Northwestern University where he earned his Master of Divinity degree. Later he received a Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Seminary at the University of Chicago. As a clergy member of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church he pastored churches for 38 years in the Chicago area. Beginning as a Youth Pastor, Tom went on the serve as Associate and then Lead Pastor in several suburban churches.Tom believes that Christian discipleship means more than just talking about your faith, it also means living it. In addition to his calling to preach, teach and give pastoral leadership, Tom and his wife Kay are mission volunteers. They organized rebuilding trips after Hurricane Katrina and following flooding in Iowa and Illinois. They have been part of short-term construction projects and medical missions in Guatemala and for the past 10 years in Panama. Five years ago, Tom and his wife, Kay, moved to Port Royal following his retirement from full time ministry. They have three children: Jennifer and Jared who live in Illinois, and Meghan, who lives in Port Royal and is an active member here at Waters Edge. They also have two grandchildren. Tom enjoys reading, photography, sailing and kayaking and has found the Low Country a great place for all these activities.
You can email Tom at tompotenzaatWE@gmail.com
Amie DeMarco,
Administrative Assistant to Pastor Howell
Amie DeMarco is the mother of 5 wonderful children. She and her husband, Jeffrey, transplanted their family to Beaufort almost 7 years ago, from the New York/New Jersey area. Having been an Art History/Archaeology major, she is loving the art, architecture, history and culture of the Lowcountry. She has an avid appreciation of music, and getting lost in a good book. Most of all, she is just thankful for the Lord’s grace and mercy that he showers on all of us, and is trusting Him on this crazy journey of life that He captains.
You can email Amie at officeatWE@gmail.com
Jose and Jaime Vergafa
Youth Ministry Coordinators
Jose and Jaime Vergara have been married for 18 years and have two daughters who are in middle and high school. They moved to Beaufort shortly after being married and have been involved in Waters Edge UMC since the beginning. They have both taught Sunday School at WE over the years and have enjoyed being a part of our children’s faith journey.
Now they are excited to take on the role as Youth Leaders at WE and continue to build a strong foundation for our youth at Waters Edge and this community. They are excited to have the opportunity to work with our youth and get them involved in service oriented projects in our community.
You can email Jose and Jamie at
j_vergara1@yahoo.com (Jose)
jdaileyvergara@gmail.com (Jaime)