At UBA, we have a pretty amazing team of people hard at work in our churches. As you interact with the association, however, you may only know a few of our staff.
And that's sad.
Our team is one of the best assets you have to get connected. So we wanted to highlight the people whose stories you might not otherwise know. Because every member of UBA is what makes up the association. Churches, ministers, staff, and associations are all #BetterTogether.
1. Introduce yourself.
My name is Dana Bowdoin. I'm the Administration Manager here at UBA. That means I'm like the CFO, HR, and building maintenance person in one. I've been working for UBA for 27 years. I attend Champions Forest Jersey Village. My husband and I have been married for 39 years and have two daughters and three grandsons.
2. How did you get connected with the association?
Jim Harrington was the executive director of UBA at the time and also the interim pastor at our church. While our oldest daughter was being baptized, he came to the house to talk to her.
I was an accounting major but had chosen to be a stay-at-home mom. The time was coming when I wanted to get back into the workforce. Jim asked me what I did. When I told him it was accounting, he took my resume. That was on a Wednesday. The interview was scheduled for Friday, and I started work Monday.
3. How does your role advance the gospel in our context?
I keep UBA operating so that our staff can do what they do. It can be easy to feel like pastors have no idea who you are. But my calling is to be behind the scenes keeping things running so pastors, ministry leaders, and UBA's staff can be on the ground helping churches spread the gospel.
“My calling is to be behind the scenes keeping things running so pastors, ministry leaders, and UBA’s staff can be on the ground helping churches spread the gospel.”
4. What's one thing most people don’t know about you?
John Handcock's name appears on the Declaration of Independence where James Bowdoin's should have been. Our distant relative James Bowdoin was sick, so his alternate, John Handcock, signed instead. So we could have called a signature a “James Bowdoin” instead!
One more fun fact: Colonel Sanders is from my hometown in Kentucky. He asked my grandfather to go into business with him. My grandfather said no. Ugh…
5. What's one impactful thing you've read?
My mother passed away last July. While we were cleaning her house, we found a book of minutes to an old Kentucky Baptist Association. It's a 1954 book of minutes with my grandfather's name as a messenger of the association. It's fascinating reading about the three-day associational meeting and the things they were talking about at the time.
6. What motivates you to go to work?
“Working at UBA always felt like where I go to serve. And our team is like family, so the culture makes it easy to come to work.”
It doesn't feel like work! Even though I'm getting paid, working at UBA always felt like where I go to serve. And our team is like family, so the culture makes it easy to come to work.
7. What’s the most exciting thing you’re working on right now?
My job is very repetitive. We close the books each month and start the same thing over again. Even the annual things, like budget, the review, and insurance renewals are repetitive. And so accounting is not for everyone!
I've really enjoyed updating our office building. Finally, we've been bringing things into the 21st century and making a space that's not only good for UBA staff but also good for churches and their leaders to enjoy as well.
8. What do you love to do when you’re not at work?
I love spending time with my grandkids and traveling.
I like documentaries and movies more than books. On Friday afternoons, I might stop by the movie theater on my way home and watch a movie.
I'm also a big Aggie fan!
9. What’s so special about a local association of churches?
“Bigger organizations are good at what they do, but they’re outside of our community.
A local association is more personal because it’s our community of churches.”
It's the community in which we live. The bigger organizations are good at what they do, but they're outside of our community. A local association is more personal because it's our community of churches.
10. Tell me a story that makes you smile.
My mom and dad got married when she was 17. My dad was stationed here in Tx. He went home to KY on a thanksgiving break, and they wanted to get married. My grandparents gave her permission to marry as long as my mom finished high school. My dad came back to San Antonio. Mom went back to school for 6 months.
The day after she graduated, they put her on a train to tx (with no cell phone) to move to be with her husband in tx. They were married 67 years until my dad died. Their legacy continues with 4 kids, 6 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. They set a great example as the four of us have all been married 40+ years.
I recently found a letter from my grandma to my mom she sent shortly after she came to tx. It's such a sweet story, and I can't imagine the difference in the world from then to now.
As UBA Administration Assistant Dana's primary areas of responsibility include financial services, accounting, personnel records, facilities management, and supervision of Financial Office volunteers.
UBA's Administrative Assistant Dana Bowdoin shares her fascinating family history, excitement about our renovated office building, and humility to serve behind the scenes to support our churches.