Vestry Nominees for the Class of 2026
James Bradley
James Bradley is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and resides in the Wolfetown Community. He was raised in the Baptist church and his father was a third generation Baptist minister. He began attending the Episcopal Church in 2016 and was confirmed at Trinity in May 2021. James feels the openness and inclusion of the Episcopal faith has opened new paths of connection for him with God and the members of the church. If elected, he looks forward to serving on the vestry.
He was graduated from Cherokee High School in 1981, completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at UNC-Greensboro in 1986, and received his Masters in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University in 2010.
From June 2017 through January 2023, James served as the Secretary of Education for the Eastern Band of Cherokee (EBCI). Previously he was the Director of Community and Recreation Services for the EBCI, Advertising/PR/Sponsorship Supervisor for Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, a Manager Intern in the Harrah’s Cherokee Leadership Development Program, the fiscal & Training Supervisor in the Tribal Education Program, Executive Director of the Cherokee Historical Association, Program Director at the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, and the founding director of the Cherokee Youth Center Boys and Girls Club. He is an alumnus of the Native Leadership Institute through the American Indian Center at UNC Chapel Hill. He has also been a board member for the Friends of Mountain History, the Musical Theater Advisory Board at Western Carolina University (WCU) and the WCU Cherokee Center Advisory Board.
Carole Rickard Hedden
Carole was born and raised in Cape Girardeau, MO in the Catholic church. She and her high school sweetheart, Cole, married after Cole entered the U.S. Army. During a lengthy assignment away from home for Cole, Carole began attending the non-denominational chapel at Fort Campbell KY, which in turn led her to Trinity Episcopal (Clarksville, TN) where their first daughter was baptized.
After Cole left the Army in 1986 and until 2014, the family moved more than a few times, attending Episcopal churches in New Mexico, Arizona, New York and Virginia. Volunteer roles with these churches ranged from Sunday School teacher and thrift sale coordinator to developer of a “plant” church in Arizona.
Carole and Cole began restoration of an abandoned “farmette” in 2014 in Asheville and began visiting Episcopal churches throughout the community, joining Trinity in late 2015 as “8 o-clockers.” Carole is a member of the linen and flower guilds and is working on water intrusion issues with Trinity’s building and grounds committee.
A journalist by trade, Carole worked for 26 years with Aviation Week & Space Technology (media company) where she led new product development and editorial coverage of program management, innovation, workforce, and advanced air mobility. She also worked for Corning Inc., Honeywell, Austin Peay State University and several newspapers. Carole retired in December 2022.
She and Cole have two daughters--one in Atlanta with her husband and two children, the other in Seattle. Carole enjoys needlework, cooking, reading, hiking, kayaking and gardening.
Tina McGuire
Tina was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. When she was five years old, her father and several other men decided that their small Toledo suburb needed an Episcopal parish. This was the beginning of her lifetime participation of being “raised” in the Episcopal Church! After graduation from Briarcliff College in Westchester County, NY, she married John, a Duke medical student. After that, they were off to Seattle for an internship and residency in general surgery. Tina joined St. Stephen’s, Seattle, and her church volunteer career was off and
running. By then, there were three little boys, John, Jr., Peter, and Malcolm, who loved to sit in the front pew…searching for the Holy Ghost!
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For Tina, being a member of Trinity has been a joyful ride since 1978. Her family and she came to church on the third Sunday of July that year and have never once looked back or considered trying out another church.
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She has been involved with much of Trinity’s life since we arrived. It would include teaching Sunday School, being on the Altar Guild, initiating the Flower Guild, singing in the Choir (for a year!!), helping plan the new Church Street Courtyard, and many other involvements. It’s hard to sit still when one is a member of Trinity! There is so much available to nourish the soul and so much to give in the way of bringing beauty into this house of God.
Craig Weeks
Craig was born in Glen Ridge, NJ, and is a lifelong Episcopalian. He was confirmed in the Episcopal Cathedral in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Craig met his wife Lorrie on a blind date arranged by Craig’s brother when Craig was playing baseball for his alma mater, Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA). Craig majored in Political Science and International Studies and spent a semester studying abroad in Medellin,
Colombia. Craig and Lorrie married after graduation and moved to Phoenix, AZ, where Craig got his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. They then moved to Montclair, NJ, where Craig spent most of his career working in large banks in New York City and a 3-year assignment in Geneva, Switzerland. Lorrie and Craig were active members of Saint James Episcopal Church in Montclair, where Craig completed fifteen years on the vestry plus three terms as Warden. Craig is a Trustee Emeritus of Dickinson College, having served on that Board for 17 years.
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Craig and Lorrie moved to the Asheville area from Seattle, WA, in 2017. They joined Trinity in early 2020 and are part of the “COVID Cohort.” At Trinity, Craig is a lector and intercessor and participates in the “Trekking the 828” group. Lorrie is a sewing volunteer at Lake Logan and on the CDMT committee. Craig volunteers with the Red Cross and is on the Weaverville Economic Development Advisory Committee. Craig and Lorrie’s son and his family live in New York.
Richard Wrightson
Richard was born in New Zealand and was baptized and confirmed in the Church of England (CE). He attended two CE-related boarding schools with a strong emphasis on music (he studied piano and cello and, for four years, sang in the choir where he was head choir boy). He moved with his parents to the U.S. when he was sixteen, attended the University of Virginia (including going through the Ph.D. program in economics), and served in the US Navy.Beginning in 1968, Richard worked in New York as a financial economist and, in 1978,
founded his own independent financial research firm. While living in Westchester, New York, he served on the vestries of Christ Church, Tarrytown, and St. Barnabas Church, Irvington as treasurer of both churches.
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Richard moved to Asheville in 2002 and was immediately drawn to the warmth of Trinity. He has served as a lay reader and usher. He is married to Corkie Morrill and has two children from a previous marriage. Since moving to Asheville, he has served on the board of the Asheville Chamber Music Series for eight years, the last three as President, where he led a successful funding campaign during the 2008 financial crisis to purchase a grand piano. His interests include music, travel, golf, hiking, and reading.
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For Richard, it would be an honor to serve on the Trinity vestry (if elected). As a committed lifetime Anglican/Episcopalian, he would feel challenged to preserve the church's well-being and help further the growth and outreach of Trinity Church.
Nominees to the Diocesan Convention
Katherine Ray
Jeff Imes
