Dora Brown is retired. That could be simply all that needs to be said. However, Dora Brown’s story is not a one sentence article. She is one of those community leaders who puts her heart, soul, and faith into everything she does. Her leadership will be missed.
But, then, Dora Brown is not the kind of person to fade away, either. This year she will be recognized as a 50-Year Banker. Starting in the banking industry with her smile and superior customer service skills, this former Senior Vice President and Marketing Manager for IBC Bank said that banking chose her, not the other way around.
“Customer service has always been my job,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed it.”
After she immersed herself in banking, learning everything she possibly could, she turned outward to her community, looking for the next way she could be of service. In 1996, when Sam Houston Elementary Principal Connie Maheshwari called describing a new elementary school program she had seen at a conference and needed a business partner to help start it, Dora was at her door almost before they were off the phone. Today called a Minitropolis, there are 15 such programs in Hidalgo County, six in the McAllen ISD – one of Dora’s proudest accomplishments.
But there are more, so many more. She was Woman of the Year for the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and awarded the Rotarian Paul Harris Fellow for her work with her husband Joe’s Rotary Club in Pharr. Her office is lined with awards of all manner and plaques of gratitude for all she has done for her community.
Facing major health crises in her life with courage and fight, Dora Brown has been, and will continue to be, no doubt, a light for her community: a woman whose shoes will be hard to fill. Grateful to God for every morning she awakes, Dora will take her good health, friends and family, on to her next phase – traveling, being a grandma, and finding where her path will lead her next.
“It’s been a great ride for me!” she said.
Knowing Dora, we haven’t seen the last of her yet!
BE Dora!
D – Determined
O – Optimistic
R – Respected
A – Authentic
(by the IBC Bank Women of Purpose committee)