During the Sunday morning service on July 09, 2006, the PENIEL DRUG/ALCOHOL RESIDENTIAL family celebrated as Dr. Marion Mattie Spellman received yet another prestigious honor.  Dr. Spellman received her Doctorate in Theology from the ST. THOMAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE.  Its main campus is located in Jacksonville, Florida.  The Founder and President, Rev. Zamekio Jackson, Ph.D.  officiated.  Dr. Spellman’s family is her passion.  She is the devoted daughter of Ivrie Pegues Sr. (deceased) and Mrs.  Margaret Bridges, the loving wife of Bishop Harold Spellman, Ph.D., the mother of two great sons and the grandmother of two wonderful grandchildren.  She has one beloved sister, Lori Curry.  She is a credentialed minister with the Church Of God, Cleveland, Tennessee.   Dr. Spellman is the Founder and CEO of the Peniel Drug/ Alcohol Residential Center, whose main campus is located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  Dr. Marion Spellman, with her husband also Co-pastors, the Peniel Praise Community Church in Johnstown.  Dr. Spellman’s first exposure to the devastation of chemical addiction was the rude awakening of the servere addiction of her only brother, who later died of a drug overdose.  She began her ministry with the inmates incarcerated in the Allegheny County Jail and the prisoners housed in Muncy Women’s State Correctional Center, both located in Pennsylvania.  Later, she was appointed director of a local Christian Residential Treatment Center.  After a while, she sensed that she was becoming “burned–out;” so she decided to invest her talents in the secular community.  She accepted a clerical position in the office of the Commissioner of Correction’s office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.   But her effort to escape full time ministry was short lived.  She could not ignore her heartbeat which was to change the lives of men and women.  This has always been the impetus for her passion and drive.  Dr. Spellman wrote the Peniel program with a holistic approach in mind.   Her goal is to present an accurate and comprehensive approach to sobriety from a Christian perspective.  In fact, since 1980, when our doors opened, literally thousands have found a new life through Jesus Christ.Peniel is successfully addressing a variety of addictions, mild emotional problems as well as providing spiritual awareness within our society.  With a varying 74%- 79 % success rate, (of those that successfully complete treatment) Peniel has crossed denominational, racial, cultural, social and economic barriers.  Dr. Spellman will quickly tell those that ask the source of their success that Peniel has impacted this world in a dramatic and significant way because of our qualified and faithful staff.  The Christian as well as secular communities celebrate Peniel’s ability to make a distinctive difference in lives and families throughout the nation and abroad. Dr. Spellman’s awards are too numerous to mention in this biography, however among them are:  The Faithful Servant’s Award presented by the National Evangelical Association, The Compassionate Achievement Award,  YWCA Woman Of The Year Award,   Woman Of The Year Award  - The Christian Missionary Alliance, and The Pentecostal Caregivers Association’s Visionary Award. November third was officially declared, “Appreciation Day For The Spellmans” in the City of Johnstown by Mayor Linda Weaver in 1996.  From 1999- 2001, Dr. Marion Spellman served as the chairlady for the Board of Directors of Transformation Center of T.D. Jakes Ministries.  Dr. Spellman also served eight years on the Board of Directors of the Church Of God International Women’s Ministries and is currently serving on the Pennsylvania Board of Directors for the State Women’s Ministries of the Church Of God.  She is a member of the Board of Directors for Jan Aldridge Ministries, Inc. Dr. Spellman has been invited to speak around the world, including Japan, Hawaii, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the West Indies.  She was also invited to speak to the Military troops overseas with her good friend Bishop Barbara Amos, Ph.D. of Norfolk, VA. She has authored several small books and published nationally released articles.  She is a sought after camp meeting and convention speaker.  She and her husband, Bishop Spellman, conduct team teaching for seminars and church services throughout the United States and abroad.