Hi there, I am the administrator for the Presbytery of Arkansas! My name is Kimberly Palmer, or Kim, if I am not in trouble. I started at the Presbytery in September of 2019, with a healthy background in bookkeeping and fairly good organizational skills among other things. I focused on the clean-up, filing in my office and boxing up outdated financial documents for destruction. I then put years of financial documents that were more recent, in boxes for easy access and got the files for year 2018 ready to be reviewed by the auditor. I also recognized that we were probably going to do a full audit on 2019 (we did!), got those ready too. I feel like it was a trial by fire that I conquered but, in the process, it was a huge chance to learn the history of the job and get an excellent grip on what all this job encompasses. Making financial reports for different committees and tracking revenue (money from churches) and expenses is one of my favorite things to do.

The presbytery has recently reworked all the job descriptions and my job is part time along with all my coworkers except Stewart, our General Presbyter. My job is not only financial, but I also handle a lot of phone calls where the caller is seeking information on a variety of topics. I feel like my job is sort of a jack of all trades deal where I never know what skill that next phone call will draw on.

Just about the time I was getting a little more comfortable with my job and knowing what was expected of me, this thing called COVID became an issue. In March of 2020, my job transitioned to work from home with a visit to the office about twice a month to make deposits and pay bills. At first, I did not have a dedicated home workspace and I always felt like I wanted to work in my beautiful office. I finally got squared away. I got a desk and a better computer and over time set my home office up remarkably similar to my office at work so I am now comfortable working at home or the office. I also had a few issues to resolve with knowing and having the right paperwork in the right place. I had used Drop Box before but nothing to the extent I use it now. I try to have everything I need if I am in the office, at home or working from my phone. It has taken a few months, but I feel like I know where everything is, and I keep it where I need it. On most days.

I have a crazy wild background of course in bookkeeping/accounting, technical support, and for the previous 11 years, my husband and I owned two community newspapers. I am a former Texan, I moved back home to Arkansas when my husband of almost 25 years passed away unexpectedly after a short illness. I live with my parents, helping my mother take care of my dad who is in kidney failure among other health issues. I have a 21-year-old daughter who is a student at Texas A&M in Commerce who comes home on breaks. She has two furry sisters that think they are really good work cats now since I am home so much. I have a few hobbies—I enjoy the outdoors, genealogy and reading. During this time, I have had to come up with things to do with my spare time since I really do not get out much. I have taught myself how to crochet! So far, I am the only one benefitting from my new skill, but I have made a lovely throw that is perfect to keep warm under and a few beanies that are great to wear walking when it is chilly. I really enjoy working at the Presbytery and all the wonderful people I meet. I can be reached at (501) 663-2424 which rings through to my cell phone even if I am in the office. My email address is: Kim@presbyark.org. I am happy to help you or your church out any way I can.