Susan Kimball honored for 20 years on staff
Systems Administrator Susan Kimball will be recognized in both worship services this Sunday, Sept. 12, for her 20th anniversary as a Wilshire staffer. Her first day of work at the church was September 10, 2001.
Much of Susan’s job revolves around technology, from managing the church database to updating the website and sending weekly churchwide emails. She helps with all kinds of information technology matters and serves as the go-to proofreader for documents and publications, including the weekly worship folder. “I wear many hats,” she says. “My job overlaps with a lot of other people.”
Senior Pastor George Mason says, “This is the rare chance to spotlight someone whose goal is to stay out of the spotlight. Susan Kimball sends you Wilshire emails but you don’t know who they come from. She manages the website behind the scenes and screens. She keeps the church’s database current. As long as all goes well, Susan stays anonymous. But today we celebrate her, call her name with blessing and thank her for making us all better.”
To her fellow staff members, Susan is known as a reliable problem solver and answer person. She says, “I like working with other people to troubleshoot or talk through issues, to be a sounding board, to listen to what they’re trying to do and help figure out a good way to do it.”
Ministry Assistant Debby Burton says, “Susan probably has the longest job description of anyone on staff. She has performed her job quietly and efficiently every day of her 20 years.”
Troubleshooting isn’t something Susan just does with staff. She often works with church members to solve technology-related issues, whether congregants are not receiving church emails or having difficulty with event registration on the church website.
Susan’s work on the database involves inputting information about new members and keeping things up to date when people move to a new home, get a new phone number or change email addresses. Lately she has been busy with Wilshire’s conversion to the new Realm database system, learning about it and training others on how to use it.
Of her detailed and sometimes tedious work, Susan says “It helps to have a logical brain.”
In addition to being a long-tenured staffer, Susan grew up at Wilshire. Her vast institutional knowledge is a helpful resource for those who come to her with questions about people or processes. “I know a lot of things about the church,” she says. “I tell new staff members, if you need some information about the people in the church, and who goes with who, I generally know.”
As a Wilshire member, Susan attends Seekers Class, sings in Sanctuary Choir and Nova, plays flute in Wilshire Winds and is a member of Carillon Ringers. She attended Baylor University, where she earned a bachelor of business administration degree with a marketing concentration and a minor in environmental studies. Susan worked for five years at a real estate and construction company before being hired at Wilshire. She says, “Before I came to work for the church, I had no idea of how much behind-the-scenes work there was.”
Debby says Susan is always eager to mix fun with work: “She is our staff NCAA Tournament bracket keeper and hands out prizes to the winners. She emails staff when 7-Eleven offers free Slurpees and asks who wants to go.”
Reflecting on her anniversary, Susan says, “I’ve done a lot of different things in my job, so there has always been something new to learn. The technology has changed so much over 20 years and is always changing.” What won’t change, she says, is the need for efficiency and accuracy: “I want things to be correct, whether it’s in the database or in a communication piece. I’m striving for excellence.”
Drop Susan a note of congratulations at skimball@wilshirebc.org.