David Johnson, Married Man

NARP Assistant Director David R. Johnson and Amanda M. Bechtel, were wed at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 6.  Culminating a four-year courtship, Amanda and Dave were joined by family from across the country, friends from around the world, and, of course, by the entire NARP staff.  The reception was held at the Phoenix Park Hotel, across the street, naturally, from Washington Union Station. In 2003, Amanda and Dave met through a mutual friend (who Dave had originally met on a MARC commuter train).  However, shortly thereafter, Amanda moved to Milwaukee to earn her Masters of Science in Art Therapy from Mount Mary College while Dave lived in DC and continued to work at NARP.  Amanda returned to the area last year, becoming an Art Therapist in suburban Baltimore.  The happy couple were reunited.  Dave proposed on December 19, 2006 while they celebrated Christmas early. Since then, they both worked extremely hard (and presumably lost plenty of sleep) to plan their wedding.  Fortunately, the ceremony and festivities were executed beautifully, and a grand time was had by all.  The NARP staff wish Amanda and Dave a successful marriage and much happiness.  Congratulations to both of you!

—Matthew Melzer