From left to right are Tom Serena, John Martino, Buzz Burke, Paul Johnson, (seated) Julie Panaro, Msgr. Beattie, and Theresa Deere (Parish Accountant). Taken 1/21/10 after the quarterly Finance Committee meeting

St. Bart’s Finance Committee

St. Bart's Finance Committee is advisory to the Pastor and assists him in fulfilling the following responsibilities: assuring that an annual budget is properly prepared, reviewing as needed the implementation of the Archdiocesan bookkeeping and accounting system for all parish finances, ensuring that the submission of the Annual Financial Report is prepared and submitted to the Archdiocese, preparing and publishing the Annual Financial Statement and Report for the members of the parish community, developing procedures for the deposit of church funds in interest-bearing checking and savings accounts, evaluating and making recommendations regarding the needs and the effectiveness of the parish's effort of church support through the Sunday Offertory and Faith Direct, reviewing the performance of the Youth and Educational Endowment and other investment accounts which may be established, developing a plan for the financing of necessary repairs, renovations and purchase of equipment, developing a plan for the systematic payment of any parish debt, coordinating all fund raising programs, meeting all requirements of federal and state tax law and maintaining an accurate record of payment, to submit to appropriate civil authorities tax exempt forms as required by law and maintaining records of same for all Church-owned properties, safeguarding the assets of the parish from loss or damage through appropriated review of insurance coverage, and, to implement all other diocesan policies relative to financial matters in a timely and appropriate manner.

Fellow Parishoners on St. Bart’s Finance Committee

There are five Parish members appointed to the Finance Committee, (biographical information of each follows).

Frederic G. Burke, Chairman of the Finance Committee, is currently President and Chief Investment Officer of Johnston Lemon Asset Management, Inc. He began his financial career with Loeb, Rhodes in 1973. Prior to joining Johnston Lemon Asset Management in l998, he was employed as the Senior Vice President Managing Trust Officer at three banking institutions in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. He earned his undergraduate degree from Xavier University and his graduate degrees from The American University and Georgetown Law Center. He is a member of the Washington Association of Money Manager, the DC Bar Association, and the Financial Planning Association.

Buzz Burke has been a member of St. Bart’s Parish for many decades. He has served as a Eucharistic Minister, a Lector, and an Usher over the intervening years. He currently resides in Bethesda with his wife, Rita, who works at St. Jane de Chantal Catholic School. He was elected Chairman of St. Bartholomew’s Finance Committee in 2008. Since that time, he has expanded and reformatted the review process for various Church and school budget reports, restructured the Committee’s oversight responsibilities, and has undertaken a thorough review of the Youth and Education Endowment Trust.

John A. Martino, CPA, CFP® is an independent financial advisor with Financial Advantage Associates in Rockville. He has been in the financial services industry since 1987, beginning at Morgan Stanley where he rose to Vice President, Investments. Afterward, John served as a Financial Advisor in the Credit Union Community for several years. A lifelong resident of Montgomery County and a Walt Whitman graduate, John earned his BS in Business and Accounting at the University of Maryland, College Park.

John has been a member of St. Bart’s for nearly 40 years and a singer in the choir since he arrived. He is a cantor in our parish and has served on the parish council numerous times, starting as the first youth member and eventually as president. He has also been a member of the Finance Council for at least 20 years. John’s wife, Carole Wysocki, is the parish Director of Music. He is the proud father of Adrian, a sophomore at Landon School, and Evan, a freshman at Harvard.

Paul Johnson has been a member of St. Bartholomew Church since 1983. He has served on the Finance Committee over an extended period of time. He is also a Lector and an Aramithean, who assists Priests with funerals. Paul has retired from Marriott International, where he most recently was President of Marriott Senior Living Services. In that capacity he developed and managed over 150 communities serving the elderly. Previously he held various positions in Finance, Development and Strategic Planning at Marriott and Pepsico, Inc. Paul currently is on the Board of Directors of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Victory Housing, Inc, and serves on the Finance and Audit Committees of each organization. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts (BBA) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (MS). He is a resident of Bethesda, has two married daughters and two grandchildren.

Julie Panaro, the newest member of the Committee, serves as a liaison to the Pastoral Council. She earned her B.A. from Boston College in l973 and a M.B.A. from American University in 1976. She began her federal service in 1974 at the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. She was a financial analyst in trade finance, Deputy Vice President of Latin America, and VP of Aircraft Finance. Her last SES position before retiring in 2002 was Director of the Caspian Finance Center in Ankara, Turkey. She is currently President of the Pastoral Council, a member of St. Bart’s Women’s Prayer Group, and an Ignatian Volunteer Corp member. She volunteers three days a week as an intensive English language teacher at the Spanish Catholic Center in D.C.

Julie and her husband, Jerry, have been parishioners since 1987. He is a practicing attorney with Howe & Hutton in D.C. They have two grown children, son Matt and daughter Ryan who reside, respectively, in Atlanta, GA and Boston, MA.

Tom Serena has been a long-serving member of the Finance Committee. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer of the American Gastroenterological Association in Washington, DC. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Accounting in 1983 and he earned a M.B.A. from Pitt in 1984. In addition to Tom’s responsibilities on the Finance Committee, he serves as CYO Chairman and is an active member of St. Bart’s School Advisory Board.

Tom and his wife, Vilma, (Medina), have been members of St. Bart’s since 1972, and reside in Bethesda with their two children. Nick and Kaelynn both attended St. Bart’s School. Nick graduated in 2005 followed by his sister three years later.