Dan and Marti Huss are lifelong residents of Cincinnati, Ohio. They have been married for more than 50 years and are the parents of three children: Kelly, John and Kathy. Dan is an attorney, still practicing part-time in Oxford, Ohio, and from his home office in Cincinnati. He retired from the faculty of Miami University where he taught Business Law from 1965-92. Marti is a retired teacher who spent the majority of her career at Fairfield South Elementary school in the greater Cincinnati area teaching first and second grades. She has remained active in the Ohio Education Association and was instrumental in starting an intergenerational mentoring program that pairs college students majoring in education with classroom teachers so as to assist the students with their educational experience before student teaching.

Dan was raised attending Trinity Lutheran Church in Peach Grove, Ohio, and Marti joined him there when they were married. They have been members at Christ Lutheran church in Cincinnati for more than 45 years and have been involved in a wide variety of ministries and activities
of the church.

Dan and Marti volunteered to lead the youth ministry when their own children were young. They hosted camping events, chaperoned retreats, and mentored the youth group for many years. Dan served in various positions of leadership within the congregation and taught Sunday school. Marti volunteered with the video production team when that was first implemented at the church.

Their ministry involvement went far beyond their home congregation. Because of their son's involvement in Youth Encounter ministries, they supported that organization. That wider view moved Marti to become a short-term missionary for several years beginning in 1995. She traveled as a teacher to Togo in West Africa, Taiwan and China. Her abilities to record and edit videos were used by Apple of His Eye mission society when that organization was getting started.

Dan stayed closer to home, but became involved in the Federation of Lutheran Churches of
Cincinnati and vicinity. This organization engages in ministry on behalf of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregations in southwest Ohio, southeast Indiana and northern Kentucky that could not do so alone. Ministry outreach includes chaplaincy at local hospitals, campus ministry at the University of Cincinnati, a young adult ministry and joint ministries of education, special worship celebrations including Reformation and a Federation-wide publication.

As the vice president and president, Dan helped the Federation grow and expand its ministry opportunities. He was re-elected president in 2019.

Their son, John, graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis with a Master of Divinity in 2006 and now serves as pastor at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Milpitas, Calif. Dan and Marti supported their son in his formation for ministry and following his graduation, they have continued to support the Seminary. The Seminary's faculty have preached at Federation events, and the Foundation hosted the Seminary's presentation of The Gospel of Mark as well.

Dan had considered attending the Seminary and becoming a pastor; however, circumstances intervened and his life took a different course. But through a wide variety of ministries and through the stewardship of the gifts that God gave to him and to Marti, their influence on the church and impact in the lives of saints around the world cannot be measured.

THE CHRISTUS VIVIT AWARD

Chosen by the faculty — after consideration of personal knowledge and/or recommendations by others — the recipient(s) of the Christus Vivit Award have demonstrated exemplary service to the church.