Making it count

Children surround the kitchen table and their laughter fills the home of Bernita Demery ’02 as she shares hugs with the small crew that has accompanied her home from church on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

“I love children. Even in the next season of life I want to do something that keeps me in touch with young people,” she says.

For Demery, life is about giving back and realizing everything we do impacts someone else. She hopes the small seeds she plants by spending time with children grow into the realization that success is within their grasp.

“I live by Dr. King’s motto, ‘If I can help someone as I pass along…then my living will not be in vain,'” says Demery, calling out a portion of a song performed by Mahalia Jackson, a favorite of Martin Luther King Jr. and used in his 1968 sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct.”

Demery, who received her master’s degree in business administration from East Carolina University, lives out this motto in her personal and professional life. She has built a successful career as the financial director and chief financial officer for the city of Greenville and is known throughout the community for helping and encouraging others.

Strong roots

She grew up in Halifax, a small town in northeastern North Carolina, and is the youngest and only girl of five children. When Demery was 8 months old, her father died, leaving her mother to raise the children alone. Early on in life, the influence of her family helped shape her.

As a young girl Demery’s mother, Mildred Whitaker, would share the bills and the amount of her paycheck as she wrote out checks each month, giving Demery her first lessons in budgeting and finance. When she was a teenager, she traveled to Newport News, Virginia, in the summer to work in a daycare owned by her aunt. She says the experience taught her about business management and what it takes to be in charge.

Though times were tough financially for her family, Demery says giving back was very important to her mother. “I watched her juggle so many tasks to make things better for us, and she still contributed to the community,” she says. “Perseverance was something I learned from her, and it has certainly helped in my 28 years with the city.”

Demery began working for the city of Greenville in 1988 as a senior accountant and was promoted to financial director and CFO in 1989. She oversees the planning and day-to-day operations of the city’s $78.1 million budget. The department she manages comprises several offices including purchasing, payroll, collections, investments and the Minority Women/Business Enterprise Program, a joint venture between the city and Greenville Utilities Commission to provide minority- and women-owned businesses equal opportunity to do business with government.

The success of Demery’s leadership with the city can be measured by the numerous recognitions the finance department has received over the years, including the award for Excellence in Financial Reporting, which it has received for 26 consecutive years. She has held positions in professional and community organizations including the board of directors for the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and is treasurer of the Pitt/Greenville Convention and Visitors Authority.

She credits the accomplishments to hard work and the team that works beside her, many of whom came from ECU’s College of Business. Her colleagues attribute her success not only to savvy accounting and business skills but also to the environment she creates that encourages outstanding performance.

Denisha Harris ’02 ’05 began working in the finance department as an intern 10 years ago. She is now the purchasing manager for the city and says Demery’s management style has filtered through to other supervisors within the department, making it a great place to work.

“She cares about the whole person-our families and our dreams. She supports your goals and provides the resources we need to become better,” says Harris.

Guiding and inspiring
Sometimes referred to as the mother hen of the office, Demery values relationships and encourages her young managers to develop long-standing relationships locally.

“I try to lift up the next generation. I want them to rise to the challenge and never settle for mediocre,” she says.

As a successful and respected leader in the community, Demery uses her professional success and life experience to help motivate and encourage young people. She is known to teach classes to youth, especially girls, on basic finances, how to open a bank account and the importance of giving back. She has passed on these skills to her two adult daughters, Requita and Bridget.

“They are both very conscious of being independent and making sure they are contributing to the community,” says Demery.

Her drive to help others often finds her with the youth who attend Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, where she and her husband of 32 years, Ricky, have been members since 1988. After serving on the church’s finance committee for 17 years, she has found her way back to working with the youth of the congregation. She strives to be someone they can look up to and aspire to become.

Though Demery’s own children are grown, it is not unusual to see several teenagers in her home or a few kids piled into her car for a quick trip to the beach. “It’s important for kids in eastern North Carolina to be exposed to other types of cultural activities and to see the ocean. I think it opens their minds to think about the endless possibilities of the world,” says Demery.

During visits to her home or to local parks, she tries to keep things casual and fun. She wants the children and teenagers she works with to see her as an everyday person. “All they have to do is make a little progress toward what they want to do in the future. They can choose to do wrong or right-if they do the right thing it will get them a lot further,” says Demery.

In 2012, she co-founded the East Carolina Ivy Foundation with other members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority alumni group. The foundation creates programs and supports partnerships that boost education, culture and healthy living. This year, it is awarding nine scholarships to high school graduates to attend the college of their choice.

According to her friend and fellow church member Julius Parham, Demery is a doer-the grace and love that is the center of her faith are shown in her actions and attitude. Her excitement is contagious, he said.

“She grabs the kids’ attention and motivates them by trying different things,” he said, citing her recent plan to take the youth on a trip to the beach for a Bible study as an example of her willingness to keep them engaged.

Demery tries to be the support, direction and balance they may need in their lives.

“I want them to believe in themselves,” she says.

Perseverance
After studying accounting at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in Greensboro on a full academic scholarship, she ended up in Greenville, she says, because the city was bigger than Halifax but not too big. She learned during an undergraduate internship in Chicago that her dream of living in a big city and being away from her family wasn’t as glamorous as she imagined. During her time in the Windy City, her grandfather died. When she couldn’t make it back for the funeral due to work, her family understood.

“That wasn’t OK with me,” Demery says. So she vowed to never be that far from family again.

The perseverance exemplified by her mother came in handy when she decided to return to school in 2000 to pursue her MBA. She took on the task while serving as Greenville’s CFO, raising two young daughters and continuing her community obligations.

Paul Russell, director of graduate studies for ECU’s College of Business, says the MBA program is designed to be as flexible as possible because the majority of their students juggle the demands of work and family while pursuing their degree.

“Students can choose between online and on-campus courses. On-campus courses that are taught in the afternoon during the fall semester are taught at night in the spring to give local students the ability to take courses around their schedule,” says Russell.

Demery says the biggest challenge for her was attending the night meetings, but professors worked with her and understood her individual situation.

“The first year I was there I realized I was in pretty deep-that it was going to be a hard program. The second year I wanted to quit. It was a lot, but my husband encouraged me,” says Demery. Looking back on the experience, Demery believes her MBA makes her a better manager for Greenville.

“I think obtaining an MBA helped me be more aware of business activities, how to run diverse types of businesses and the impact of a diverse culture. The city is a very complex business enterprise within itself and I do believe (the MBA) has enhanced my skills,” says Demery.

ECU’s College of Business, like so many people, has benefited from her desire to help. Since finishing her MBA in 2002, Demery continues to serve on the school’s Business Advisory Council. She touts the experience she had as a student and continues to have as an alumna as a reason for others to attend ECU.

“ECU is more than a university; it’s a family with a connection you will have for the rest of your life,” she says.

ECU honored her last year when she was selected as one of the university’s Women of Distinction. The award is given to women for their leadership and impact at ECU and in the community.

The Pirate pride was passed down to her daughter Requita, who attended ECU as an undergraduate and is now in her fourth year at the Brody School of Medicine. Her youngest daughter, Bridget, followed in her mother’s footsteps and is studying accounting at NC A&T.

Though she has a few years before retirement, Demery is always thinking about what’s next. She is clear with anyone who asks that sitting around and doing nothing isn’t her style.

“Too many people have made sacrifices for me to have the opportunities I’ve had over my life. I have to continue to give back in some way,” she says.

Demery believes God has brought her through seasons in life and, with a smile, says that working for the city is not her final season.