Congratulations Mary Beth
This month we are wishing Happy Retirement to our Financial Administrator, Mary Beth Dauner. On September 29th, during the 10am service, we will honor her 34 years of dedication to our parish, followed by a party in the Great Hall. For those of you who have known Mary Beth from the beginning or if you have recently joined our church family, all are invited to the festivities. If you would like to write a message to her, click on the link below and your well wishes will be collected and shared with her on that day. Be sure to stop by the Gallery Wall and learn more about our dear “MB” and thank her for all she has done for St. Barnabas.
Well Wishes Link: https://bit.ly/MaryBethWellWishes
As Mary Beth prepares to fall back into the role of parishioner and not employee, she agreed to an interview where she shared her life and how she came to be an integral part of our church family.
Mary Beth was born in Grand Rapids MI. Her mom was active in the Episcopal Church and Mary Beth recalled, “I was really involved in church as a kid and a cradle Episcopalian. I was super involved, I was in choir, youth group, I was the first female acolyte at our church.”
Growing up in Grand Rapids paved the way for Mary Beth to select Michigan State University as her secondary education. She attended MSU with a major in Recreation and Administration. This degree would allow her to choose from several agencies that were corporate or private. She secured an internship in an agency with the Girl Scouts of America and then later with a private company – Walt Disney World. Little did she know that Disney would not only be a job but would change her life forever.
“While attending Michigan State, I saw an advertisement about a summer job at Walt Disney World in their newly launched College Program in 1981. It was the first program of its kind for Disney and I got hired. There were four of us chosen and we all went down together. Disney housed us in a trailer park called Snow White Village. I lived on Happy Lane in Kissimmee Florida.
And the first night I was there, out comes this guy walking down our street and he had an Ohio State t-shirt and I was like Booooooo….Ohio State, nobody likes them. And that was the first time I met Chris, and he was there for the whole summer on the same internship.
Every day we worked from 4 to midnight and when we were done, we would party and then be back to work at 4pm the next day. Disney was building EPCOT, and they were training us to work in that park. At the end of the summer, we all went back home. Chris had one more year at Ohio State and our relationship was up in the air, so I went back to Michigan and got a job with the Girl Scouts for 2 years as a field director.
A year later, I got a phone call from Chris, and we decided to get back together. We drove back and forth between Columbus and Kalamazoo for a year and finally I said – “I’m not doing this anymore; we need to get married”. So, we did! In 1983 we got married on the day of the Michigan vs. OSU game in Grand Rapids. Everyone went to the game and then came over for the wedding.
I moved to Columbus and worked at OSU for Chris’ final year of his Master’s degree. I was working for the National Center for Research and Behavioral Education when Chris was accepted into the Department of Natural Resources Ranger Academy which was a 3-month gig outside of Columbus. He could only come home on the weekends and when the program was over, he was able to choose 3 parks in the state of Ohio he would like for placement. So, being from Cincinnati, he chose all the parks around Cinci and was assigned to Cowan Lake as a Ranger. We moved into the Arrowhead Apartments on Branch Hill Guinea in Loveland where we welcomed our first child, Bethany. Soon after we bought a small house in Maineville.”
In the Beginning
Mary Beth and her family started coming to St. Barnabas, because her mom came down to visit and would tell them that they needed to go to church. She came to Cincinnati and started church shopping for them. Finally, she found St. Barnabas worshiping at Sycamore High School and “she said we would really like it and joined the St. B family in 1987.”
“The first people I met were the Kirkpatrick’s and guess what, they went to school at Michigan State too. I joined the choir and got involved. One day, Father Hill came out to our house for a visit and at the time I wasn’t working and he said, ‘Do you want to volunteer to do our bulletin for church? ‘”
“So, I started in George and Amy’s basement where I typed it up on a typewriter at their house because there was no office. In July of 1990 we rented office space across from the Kroger on Montgomery Rd. near Go Bananas. By this time, I was pregnant with our second child, Andy, and Father Hill allowed me to take him with me to work. At this time, Jim Connelly was the treasurer, and he started having me write the bills…I did everything. I was the only employee.”
Mary Beth has always made St. Barnabas her priority and one day, “when I was pregnant with Andy, we were starting a new church year in September and the choir had ordered more robes. They were delivered and I had them in my car, but I knew I needed to get them to church, but I went into labor. I called a parishioner to meet me at the Landen Kroger to pass off the robes before I headed down to Good Samaritan to deliver.”
10345 Montgomery Road
“When the building was finished on Montgomery Road, I moved into the main building. I was in a tiny room that is now our much larger nursery. Then I moved out into the office area we have now and sat at the front desk. Retired parishioners, Joe Eggleston and Clarence Keller would come in everyday and check on me, bring me smiley face cookies and treats. Joe would go to the bank for me each week and they hung out with me because they didn’t want me to be in the building alone. It was so nice.”
As St. Barnabas continued to grow, Mary Beth’s sister, Sandy joined the payroll which brought the office to a grand total of 2 employees. Soon after Maaike Chertock was hired and there were 3. “In 2010, we streamlined a bit more and I became the Financial Administrator. There was so much more to do, and Father Hill asked me whether I wanted to do the front desk or finances and I chose finances. “
Reflections
“There was a time in the life of St. Barnabas when we were only making it month to month. But there always seemed to be someone in the parish who could help. Sometimes that one check would make a huge difference. I have always said that St. Barnabas parishioners are the most generous people who will always step-up when needed. They want ST. B to survive and be thriving so with our parishioner base it just always happens - it always seems to work out.”
“Every time I got a new treasurer I got a little anxious. I knew them as a parishioner but didn’t know how they would be in a working environment. All of them have been different. I work so closely with the Treasurer that we really get to know each other more than any other person on the staff or the Vestry. To have Don Fechter as my final treasurer has been a gift. He knows the numbers and is so great at communicating and he loves St. Barnabas. We are in good hands.”
As our Financial Administrator, Mary Beth has given us the gift of confidentiality throughout her 34 years of service. She has seen our lives ebb and flow financially, in the lean years and the flourishing years. Through them all we have trusted her and when asked about how she cultivated this trust in us she said, “I don’t feel like people think of me as judging them. I wanted people to know that we give whatever we can give at that time in our lives. It’s between you and God. You might be able to pledge this year and then next year lose your job. We take care of each other -That’s why we are a family.”
What will you miss the most?
“Just being there every day - It’s my home – I’ve been there for so long and it’s definitely a part of me. I feel so comfortable at St. B and I know every inch of this place. It will definitely be different on Sunday morning when I am not answering financial questions, and I will simply be there to worship and be socially involved at church to connect everyone together
Retirement
“I’m most excited about being able to stay with my kids for more than a week. That I don’t have to plan my travel around work. I love to travel. I’ve been very fortunate to have 5 weeks of vacation, and I could volunteer at school as my kids grew up because of the hours and flexibility. It really was a perfect part-time job.”
I can’t wait to be involved in future intergenerational events, book club, helping with dinners and introducing new people to St. Barnabas and getting them involved. I want to do anything to help connect us all together.
Travel! We love to travel! I want to visit my kids and grandson more often. And I want to play more pickleball, golf and join the Mason Community Center. It will be so great to do things during the daytime with all of my friends!
Hopes and Dreams
“I want St. Barnabas to be flourishing with young families and be a place for them to raise their family here like we did. St. Barnabas is your family too. We know if something happens – we are all there for each other.”
Congratulations, Mary Beth, on your retirement and we look forward to walking side by side with you as together we realize your dream of a flourishing St. Barnabas family.
