At the beginning of 2024, accounting had only six team members. By the fourth quarter of 2024, they were up to fourteen!
In addition to hiring eight employees, the accounting team added business support and welcomed back the payroll team, so the team continues to expand.
Describing how she leads such a new team, Jarisa Larsen, Betenbough Business Services accounting manager, says, “We have a good time together. We all support each other.” This group has brought in their families to enjoy a pickleball tournament. They also collectively took their spouses and children on a trip to the corn maze at At’l Do Farms. Jarisa shares, “We enjoy getting to know each other outside of work.” But it’s more than a meal together, family fun night, or celebration.
April Schoor, AP/AR manager, coordinates the team’s community outreach efforts. She was challenged by Brad Nelson, board director, to have monthly outreaches. She also shares what Rick Betenbough told her: “I know you can do the work. I need you to take care of my people and my community.”
April talks with the team to get ideas, and they come up with a consensus on where they’d like to give. They make an effort to actually serve, not just collect and donate items.
“TIME TOGETHER TO SERVE OTHERS HAS BEEN HEALTHY.”
– PAUL STEINHAUS
Accounting Support Manager
Some of their favorite service days have been preparing lunch at the Ronald McDonald House, hosting a Back to School Bash at the Children’s Home of Lubbock, delivering flowers to the women at Crown Point Retirement Center for Mother’s Day, and painting new therapist living quarters at Refuge Services.
The AP/AR team is eager to share how the team’s service has impacted them. Grayson Rapp says, “Getting out of self with this team has brought us closer together.” His teammate Thomas Williams shares, “We work in such a great place and have good relationships with one another; it’s nice to share that forward with people outside these walls.” And Collin McClendon explains, “I enjoy getting to see the community through the perspective of Jesus in the corporate world.”
”Community service has been a high priority in my personal life so of course I’m going to make it a priority at work when this company supports me in that,” April reflects. We truly work in a unique culture that encourages teams to regularly serve our communities on company time.
The accounting team has also enjoyed serving internally. They hosted a “Hamburgers and Mario Kart” lunch for the IT team for the purpose of showing love and building collaboration across departments. They want to build relationships with their coworkers in other parts of the company.
When asked about the impact that service has on the team, April shares, “When we serve, we get to see people in hard situations who still have joy. That gives us a different perspective about life and helps us be thankful for what we each have. It makes us more aware of God’s blessings.”
