Rev. George Hatmaker has been appointed as the new pastor of Cork United Methodist Church off Sam Allen Road in Plant City. He started July 1.
Hatmaker is from Polk County. He served in Vietnam during TET offensive, was medically evacuated from Vietnam, and then served as a special agent in the Medical Corps Criminal Investigation Division before retiring from the United States Marine Corps after 21 years.
He has been married to his wife, Ana, for 23 years. They accepted God’s call into the ministry in 1992, and their first church appointment was in Miami in 1996, where they served for six years.
Hatmaker also served the Virginia Conference of United Methodist Churches for 15 years before moving back to Florida.
Ana is from Lima, Peru and is fluent in both English and Spanish. She worked as a medical malpractice paralegal, and then owned her own elderly care business in Virginia.
They enjoy spending time with family and friends, fishing, and have five Yorkshire terriers.