Our Family

Arla Silva, Senior Product Consultant, has been with ChurchPlaza since 2002. She hails from Philadelphia, PA and moved to Sarasota in the late 80s. Her passion for the church led her to work as the Worship Lead and Music Director of her home church for 14 years and now serves as a Worship Leader Emeritus. She and her husband have 6 adult children and enjoy long distance running and cycling in their spare time.

Jeffrey Care or Jeff as we like to call him is a Senior Product Consultant for ChurchPlaza. He has vast experience in customer service with over 15 years as a product buyer and manager at a Christian bookstore. His church family has seen him lead as a worship team member, small group leader, and committee chairman. Jeff has been married to his wife for over 22 years and the pair have two children, as well as two grandsons.

Melissa Bogerman, our Senior Product Consultant, was born and raised in New Jersey where she and her husband raised their family. After his unexpected passing Melissa moved to Florida and has been enjoying the southern sun ever since. She was brought up through several different denominations and is actively involved in her current home church here in Sarasota through worship and women’s ministry among others. When she’s not traveling, speaking, or working on her book Melissa enjoys taking in everything the beach has to offer.

Nancy Fitts has been with ChurchPlaza since 1996 and is our Senior Product Consultant. Nancy originally hails from Massachusetts but has lived in many various states due career moves. Her husband and her moved to Florida in 1993 and rarely miss the cold northern winters. The couple has two children and three grandchildren. Nancy worked in a large church environment prior to joining our team and strives to combine her love for the Church community with her current position.

Bill McDaniel joined ChurchPlaza as a Senior Product Consultant after a long and successful career in Financial Services and Specialty Retail. Raised in Sarasota, Bill has served in lay leadership roles in the church and on the boards of several local non-profit organizations at the state and local level in Florida. He and his late wife raised 5 children in Sarasota, including a son with special needs. Bill delights in spending time with his children and five grandchildren. He also enjoys reading, listening to music, museums and the performing arts.

Deborah Dennis became part of the ChurchPlaza team in 2011 as our Senior Sales Consultant after being in the retail construction industry for years. Her current position has given her, her long sought after desire to support and pray for those in leadership through her position. She and her husband have 3 sons and have lived in Florida for the entirety of their marriage. Deborah enjoys volunteering in her free time along with kayaking and reading in the sunshine.

Fee Mercer joined ChurchPlaza as a member of Sales Support. She has lived in Sarasota since 1974 and has 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Fee is currently serving as a Stephen Minister and is also a small group facilitator at her current church, Church of the Palms. Her most favorite hobby is photography and enjoys being out in nature with her camera.

Nitza Dowdy joined our team in 1999 and is our General Manager. She and her husband have 4 grown children and enjoy fishing and spending time with family. Nitza volunteers in some of her free time and has truly enjoyed working to provide quality product knowledge that serves the needs of customers. Her goal is to provide every person with the highest level of customer service possible.

Christina Slocum has been our Operations Manager for the past 13 years but has been with our team for even longer. She and her husband enjoy spending time outdoors relaxing or fishing. Christina is very involved at her YMCA and loved being involved with the local community. She loves coming to work every day and being able to make a difference with other churches across the U.S.

Dr. Thomas McElheny founded ChurchPlaza over 29 years ago and currently serves as our CEO. Tom grew up in Pennsylvania and has earned his MBA as well as a doctoral degree from Florida Atlantic University where he later served as a faculty member and director of the Center for Management and Professional Development. Tom served as a Marine infantry officer for 7 years where his positions included Team Leader, Jumpmaster, and Airborne Officer. He has been married for over 40 years and the couple has four children and five grandchildren. Tom and his wife greatly enjoy serving at their local church where he has served as the director of Christian Education. Tom has served as CEO to several other companies as well as being on the local school board and as a trustee for several colleges.