One of the side effects of this contest was to learn some details about who is reading The Aquila Report.  Quite honestly, we were pleasantly surprised.  Neither one is a Minister.  Neither one is a Presbyterian.

Several weeks ago I noticed that we were getting close to the ‘magic’ number of 1,000 ‘likes’ on our Facebook page.  So, having once taken a course in marketing in pursuit of an MBA (which I never completed), I recommended we run a little contest.  Surprisingly the Publisher and Editor in Chief agreed!!

The contest was to offer a small prize to the individual who became our 1,000th Facebook Friend, and to offer a slightly less small prize to the person who recommended us by sharing our page on his/her own ‘timeline’.

It took a bit longer than I had imagined but on Monday, the day arrived.  We thought it would be interesting to gather some information about who these two readers were.

One of the side effects of this contest was to learn some details about who is reading
The Aquila Report.  Quite honestly, we were pleasantly surprised.  Neither one is a Minister.  Neither one is a Presbyterian.

Following are, in their own words, the descriptions of our two winners:

Our 1,000th Facebook Friend is John Simonson of Longwood, Florida.

I was saved at a VBS summer week when I was in the seventh grade. I achieved top prize for scoring the most points to earn a football, but my greatest moment was when I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior.

At the time I wanted to pursue a Christian vocation, and my prayer was to someday be in some form of Christian ministry. In my college days I served as a senior high sponsor, and then had joined some campus ministry groups on a university campus. When I transferred to Trinity College, my guidance counselor asked me what type of studies would I be taking there. I told him that I came to the school to have an education that was Christian, but before the end of the day my program of study would become Christian Education. The Lord has used that twist of understanding to mold me for church and educational ministry as a layman. I had already been working in office and school supply bookstore for a few years already, and books stirred my interests.

After six years of buying and selling textbooks from elementary schools all the way to graduate schools, the Lord put a Cambridge University Press salesman in my life which would ultimately take me to a career in Christian bookselling. After 40 years of managing, directing, and supervising Christian bookstores, which also included 7 years of selling products to stores, I have been totally blessed by God!
At the moment, I have 2 friends on FB here, but I know of some others who I may have heard or seen before in my career.
My resume reads like this:
BA- Trinity College 1967
MDiv-Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 1970
Textbook Department, Chandlers Inc. Evanston, IL 1963-1970
Manager-Kendall College Bookstore, Evanston IL 1970-71
General Book Buyer, Northwestern University Coop, Evanston, IL 1971-72
Director of Retail Sales, Harvest Publications( Baptist General Conference), Evanston, IL 1972-74
Manager-Zondervan Family Bookstore, Madison WI 1974-78
Manager-Trinity Beacon Bookstore (Evangelical Free Church of America), Deerfield, IL 1974-92
Regional Sales Manager southeast-Moody Press ( Moody Bible Institute), Chicago IL (Orlando resident with 5 states) 1993-2001
Supervisor of Bible and Book department-Longs Christian Book and Outlet, Altamonte Springs FL 2004-present
Church work: Church chairman, Elder, Deacon, Sunday School Superintendent, Christian Education Board, Adult Bible teacher, Worship team.  Currently serving as an elder and a member of the traditional worship music team at the Neighborhood Alliance Church of Longwood.
I’ve been truly blessed to have worked as a team with pastors, professors, authors, students, schools, and denominations. Although my last few years in semi-retirement have taken on a role as to serve the local churches around Orlando, everyday brings new lives and stories. Praying always to have the faith and patience for further service to my Savior and Lord.
Philippians 3:12-15
John Simonson

And now, for the Facebook Friend who suggested to John that he join him on The Aquila Report page, Scott Treloar of Naples, Florida

I am Scott A. Treloar and I live in Naples, FL but grew up in St. John’s County in Northeast FL. I graduated from Nease HS (whose most famous grad is Tim Tebow) in 1988. I have attended some college at LSU, Florida Community College in Jacksonville, Liberty University, Calvary Bible Institute (formerly known as Christ to the World) and am currently enrolled at Edison State College at the young age of 42, to finish my Associate’s Degree in Business Management and Administration and move on to my Bachelor’s.

I am a 20+ year veteran of the Christian publishing industry having proudly worked for Christian Bookstores both independent (For Heaven’s Sake in Orange Park, FL) and chain stores (Joshua’s and Berean Christian Stores) and also as a Sales representative for Standard Publishing, Noble Marketing, and Revelation Marketing Group.

I represented many of the best Reformed and Evangelical publishers on the planet like Baker Publishing Group, Crossway, InterVarsity Press, P&R, Reformation Trust, Evangelical Press, Christian Focus, Solid Ground, Moody Publishers, and The Northampton Press. Most recently, I worked for an independent publisher, Xulon Press (a division of Salem Communications) out of Orlando, FL. In my career, I was Standard Publishing’s 1999-2000 Trade Salesman of the Year, and was voted the Outstanding Sales Representative for 2007 by the Logos Association of Bookstores.  Currently, I am unemployed and have decided to go back to college.

I am married to Whitney, my wife of almost thirteen years and we have three daughters – Jordan (21), Anna (11), and Ally (8).

I didn’t grow up in church. I didn’t even know who Pontius Pilate was as a teenager. My father was in the Navy and we moved to Jacksonville in the early eighties. When my parents decided to move off base in Jacksonville and purchase a home in Fruit Cove, FL, I was fifteen, going into my tenth grade year the upcoming Fall. I made some new friends in the neighborhood who went to youth group meetings at the Mandarin First Assembly of God. They invited me to go but I avoided it. However, I wanted to join them on a trip to Disney World that was coming up. They invited me but prerequisite to it was membership in the youth group. I only had to attend one meeting and it was on a Wednesday night, not Sunday. So I went. I heard the Gospel presented to me for the first time ever and knew that God was calling my name. I never did go with the group to Disney World but I have been following Christ ever since.

Unsure of my career future, I always liked being in the Christian bookstore. I went to LSU to study business, planning to own my own store one day. When I failed and came home, I decided to try the community college route, struggling to know what I wanted to do with my life. I eventually attended Bible college at Calvary Bible Institute (formerly called Christ to the World), a missions-oriented school. During my time there I held a brief position as a youth pastor at a local Pentecostal Church and started to struggle with my faith.

I grew in the church reading Charles Finney and was having a crisis over the security of the believer. It was Chuck Swindoll’s, “The Grace Awakening,” that changed my mind and ultimately led me to pick up, “Chosen by God,” by RC Sproul. This eventually led me to Ortega Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Jacksonville, FL. I was mentored by some great men of God, among them was Caroll Stegall, also a former professor of mine at Florida Community College, and my pastor, David Burke.

I now attend Crossroads Church (EFCA) in Naples, FL where Michael Bannon is my new pastor.

I have sixteen friends on The Aquila Report. They are Chris Larson, W. Tosh Groce, Eric T. Young, Russ Gaippe, Tim Schirm, Gabe Fluhrer, Douglas Bond, and now you, of course. They were probably receiving your news before I, “discovered,” The Aquila report, probably due to a post from a former pastor of mine – Jim Cassidy, and my youngest daughter’s Godfather, Jeff Waddington.

My friends who signed up to receive the newsletter since I was aware of the contest are Dan Dube, Dave Harris, Christopher Harris, David Woollin, Eve Cassidy, Marc Perez (who was with me the night I attended that youth group meeting), Cindy Smith Schriver, and of course, #1000, John Simonson. John was a sales representative for Moody Publishers when I worked at Berean Christian Store in Mandarin, FL and used to visit me when I was the Bible and Book Department Manager.

I have lived many different places – I was born in Portsmouth, VA and have lived in New York, Connecticut, Texas, California, Guam, Maryland, Florida, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. My career has allowed me to travel all over the country, especially the Eastern United States and Ontario. It has also influenced my thinking very much. My years up north put me on the Westminster Seminary campus and really grounded me in the historic faith via Machen, Vos, Murray, and Van Til. This was mostly due to the friendships gained there with Dr. Lane Tipton, Rev. Jeff Waddington, and Rev. Jim Cassidy. The latter two will soon be Doctors.

I have a few hobbies – I love baseball (Go Red Sox!), the Florida Gators, and most sports. I like visiting historical sites, wine tasting, books and theology (more than just a hobby), and traveling with my daughters to visit zoos and aquariums around the country. I like fishing, too.

Thank you,

Scott A. Treloar

Publishing Consultant, Xulon Press