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"The
foundation of skills started at Huntington was grounded in
Scripture, so my experiences since then have had a solid
base on which to grow."
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Since
his graduation from Huntington University in 1980, Dave Tinkey's star
has been steadily on the rise. A certified public accountant, Dave
first worked in the Indianapolis office of a regional public
accounting firm.
Since 1990, he's been
with Bank One in Indiana, a unit of JPMorgan Chase, where he is a
finance manager for the commercial banking unit.
Growing up in Warsaw,
Indiana, Dave looked for a small liberal-arts college where he
could receive a broad-based education and not feel "lost in
the crowd." Dave’s high-school guidance counselor, who
happened to be an Huntington grad, encouraged him to visit the college.
Dave did and decided Huntington was the school for him.
"I was looking
for a place where I could have the opportunity to interact closely
with the professors, and I found it at Huntington University,"
Dave says. "By the time I left Huntington, I considered
Professors Charles Brady and Stan Rotruck and several others to be
friends as well as mentors. The people at Huntington lent a Christian
perspective to their classes. This set a good direction for me and
made me think carefully about what I wanted to do and how I wanted
to do it."
Dave also credits a
practicum in Huntington's business office as a key influence.
"I was given the opportunity to work with the College’s
controller," Dave says, "and the experience really
helped me build work skills and life skills."
While Dave is the guy
in the suit who works in the big building on Monument Circle in
downtown Indy, he’s also a leader at his church and in the
community.
Dave recently joined
the eldership at Traders Point Christian Church in northwest
Indianapolis, where over the years he’s made good use of both
the business skills he learned at Huntington and the solid examples of
Christian witness he observed at the College.
He’s headed up several ministry teams at Traders Point and held
leadership positions in the areas of missions, evangelism and
stewardship.
Early in 2001, Dave
was elected to the Huntington Board of Trustees. "I’m confident
that the combination of skills, knowledge and insight I’ve
acquired, starting at Huntington University, will help me contribute
to the board and the College in
general," Dave says. "The foundation of skills started
at Huntington was grounded in Scripture, so my experiences since then have
had a solid base on which to grow."
For several years,
Dave served on the board of Community Fellowship Ministries, a
multi-faceted inner-city outreach program. "We set up a small
mailing business in urban Indianapolis," Dave explains,
"and we helped people develop workplace skills that they
could take elsewhere or, possibly, use to take over the business
and run it. We also held a weekly Bible study for kids ages 6 to
12. Looking back, I’d say we definitely made a positive
difference in some lives. We planted some seeds, and only God
knows what growth may yet come from them."
Dave and his wife
Paula also play important roles as mentors at home for their two
young sons, Daniel and Spencer. "It’s important to start
out on the right track," Dave says, reflecting on his own
college days and speculating about what will be asked of him as a
father in years to come. "Good mentors can help you formulate
your beliefs and solidify your values, but ultimately it’s up to
each individual to continue learning and growing. Use the stepping
stones God gives you and make the most of the lessons He
offers."
In his work and
community service, Dave is emblematic of Huntington’s fondest hopes for
graduates of its business program, going forth to impact the world
for Christ in the complex world of business while maintaining the
highest ethical and moral standards.
"At
Huntington University, I learned the importance of applying a
biblical lens to one’s entire life," Dave says. "That
is the foundation of how one should enter each moment of his or
her life."
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