2025 Elections for Area 6 Board

Heather Batchelor has been feeding her love of handbells for 40+ years, beginning in elementary school. She has been ringing with the advanced, auditioned community handbell ensemble, HERITAGE RINGERS of Huntsville, since 2006 and is currently the handbell director at Grace UMC in Hunstville, AL. She has trained with numerous internationally acclaimed handbell gurus, including Nick Hanson, Michael Glasgow, Fred Gramman, Cynthia Dobrinski, Valerie Stephenson, Joel Raney, Lee Afdahl, Dave Harris, Andrew Duncan, and Shane Kennedy. Heather’s multi-faceted artistic experiences include serving as an accomplished vocal soloist, conducting orchestras and musical theater, directing vocal ensembles, arranging handbell music, performing handbell solos, choreography, writing prayer and liturgy, public speaking, playing orchestral percussion, and beautifying worship spaces. She also has extensive expertise in event planning. Heather is especially excited about her new project as Founder and Artistic Director of ENCHANTED BELLS IN MOTION, a traveling handbell group playing a wide array of music genres in sometimes non-traditional venues to help introduce handbells to the mainstream and to empower all generations of musicians. Originally from TN (with stints in Indiana and Bordeaux, FRANCE), she holds a BS degree in Marketing from Tennessee Tech University, where she was a vocal scholarship recipient and sang with the premier vocal chorale at the university. When not exploring the quaint streets of Paris, trudging up the hills of Ireland and Scotland, or cruising the Caribbean, Heather resides with her husband in the north Alabama area. She has 2 grown sons and one daughter-in-law and is a foodie and avid reader. She also enjoys writing, 5Ks, and traveling the world to experience new foods, music, and cultures.

Ruth Howald is a retired actuary, who has been involved with handbells for over 35 years. She has rung with church choirs in Minnesota, Maryland, California, and Alabama, occasionally directing as well. She has also rung with community choirs in Maryland and Alabama, and is a former treasurer of Area 6. She works part-time as the database administrator at Riverchase UMC and enjoys the additional challenges of being the “special projects” person. She, her husband Scott, and their two cats, live in the Chattanooga area.