4 Things I Appreciate about Barb Malburg

The Malburg family’s roots go so deep at The Ridge. They first started attending in 1989. It is not an exaggeration to say The Ridge is what it is today because of families like the Malburgs. If you look up the words “above and beyond” in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of the Malburg family when it comes to their incredible contributions to The Ridge.

Barb Malburg came on staff as an administrative assistant in November 2005 (so she’s approaching 15 years on staff!). I’ve worked with Barb many of those years.

Here are 4 of the many things I appreciate about Barb.

1. Attitude. You don’t have to work with Barb very long to discover her “what-can-I-do-to-help?” attitude. We love to use the phrase “whatever it takes” at The Ridge. No one exemplifies that more than Barb. If she has to work overtime to finish a task, she will. She doesn’t complain; she just wants to get the job done and do it well.
   
   
2. Unnoticed contributions. Barb doesn’t seek out or want credit for what she does. But when you arrive on a Sunday morning and things flow smoothly and work well, it’s often because Barb was working behind the scenes, to pull the details together administratively. We create and follow an “order of service” every Sunday morning. Barb makes sure every detail and note is in place. The slides on the screens are her work…and have you noticed that there is almost never a mistake or typo?
   
   
3. Smart. Because Barb is so unassuming and stays in the background, you might not know how smart she is. Is there a problem with the software we use to support our services (ProPresenter)? We don’t have to call in technical support. Barb will figure it out. She has come up with some solutions for bugs that I don’t think the original software writers were even aware of!
   
   
4. Unflappable. Barb is even, steady, consistent, and unflappable under pressure. Occasionally the train comes off the rails during a Sunday morning rehearsal. Barb has to step in to solve a computer issue. We may be counting down the minutes to the start of a service and the software isn’t working, but Barb simply looks like she’s taking a walk in the park, all the while solving a problem under pressure.

Furthermore, I’ll always be indebted to her and her husband, Mark. On my bucket list was to visit Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters Golf Tournament is held every year. When they received 4 hard-to-get tickets through a random drawing one year, they asked my wife and I if we would like to go along. Yes, they paved the way for me to get a glimpse of heaven.

If you get a chance, let Barb know how much you appreciate her, too. She has never looked for credit or sought out a thank-you, but she deserves every single one she receives!

Whatever it takes,

Jerry